A man from Seattle was convicted of producing child sexual abuse material with a coconspirator in Vietnam, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Richard Stanley Manness Jr., 38, was found guilty of two federal felonies and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of up to 30 years.
In April 2024, Vietnamese law enforcement rescued two young children who had been kidnapped and taken to an Airbnb rented by Manness, where his female coconspirator held them, according to prosecutors.
Court documents say Manness directed the sexual abuse of a child as young as six years old.
Manness has been in federal custody since August 2024 after a coordinated arrest by Homeland Security officials who were given information from Vietnamese detectives about the child kidnapping and abuse.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The initiative aims to locate, arrest, and prosecute those who exploit children online, as well as to identify and rescue victims, the DOJ says.
Manness will be sentenced on November 14.
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