Former vice-principal from Grand Coulee sentenced for receiving child porn

SPOKANE — A Grand Coulee man and former vice-principal at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School in Coulee Dam will be serving seven years in federal prison after previously admitting to receiving sexually explicit material from a 14-year-old girl.

Nathan Piturachsatit, 38, of Grand Coulee, previously entered a guilty plea to receipt of child pornography on Nov. 29. U.S. District Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. imposed a seven-year term in federal prison, which will be followed up by a 10-year term of court supervision following his release from prison. In addition, Piturachsatit will be required to register as a sex offender.

Piturachsatit was arrested after a Janesville (Wisconsin) Police Department officer took a report in January 2016 from a woman who said her 14-year-old daughter had received a suspicious package. The package, which had been mailed by Piturachsatit, contained a shirt from Pink, which is a sister store to Victoria’s secret.

During their investigation into Piturachsatit, police learned from November 2015 to January 2016 the suspect had been communicating with the girl via Instagram. During the communication Piturachsatit sent the girl pictures of himself naked and asked her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos.

The communication continued and Piturachsatit went on to tell the girl he wanted to have sex with her. A federal search warrant was obtained and on Feb. 3, 2016 the warrant was carried out at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School in Coulee Dam, where he was a vice-principal, his residence and his vehicle in Grand Coulee.

Piturachsatit admitted to sending the package to the girl in Wisconsin, as well as sending the girl sexually explicit photos and videos. He also admitted to asking the girl to send him explicit photos and receiving inappropriate images and videos from the girl.

“Prosecuting offenders who entice minors to produce child pornography and receive child pornography is a priority of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington,” Joseph H. Harrington, acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, stated. “This office is, and will continue to be, committed to prosecuting aggressively and seeking appropriate punishment for child pornography crimes.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.