Seattle – A former Bellevue, Washington, teacher was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 years in prison and lifetime supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Stuart MacGregor Hoffman, 31, pleaded guilty in February 2022, to production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said that what happened in this case was every parent’s “worst nightmare.”
According to records filed in the case, Hoffman came to the attention of law enforcement because of an investigation in the United Kingdom. Hoffman was sending explicit child sex images to a contact in the U.K. Homeland Security Investigations initiated an investigation. Hoffman’s home was searched, and he was arrested on May 14, 2020. On his devices law enforcement found images of sexual molestation of a child between the ages of 5 and 11. Hoffman was in contact with the child outside of his duties as a teacher.
In total, Hoffman had seven videos on his devices showing sexual molestation. He had an additional 1,764 images of child sexual abuse. In 283 of the images forensic examination determined they were known child victims. Under the Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, Hoffman must pay a minimum of $3,000 to each known victim. In this case, the initial restitution figure is $108,000, and could go higher. Judge Lin is going to determine the full amount of the restitution at a later hearing.
On April 15, 2022, Hoffman was sentenced in King County Superior Court to twenty years in prison for rape of a child. The state and federal sentences will run concurrently. Hoffman will be required to register as a sex offender when released from prison.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bellevue Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon. Ms. Harmon is a King County Deputy Prosecutor who is specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.