A former aide for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was sentenced to three years in federal prison Friday for possession of child pornography, federal prosecutors said.
James Michael McHaney, 28, of the District of Columbia, was arrested Nov. 30 when he met with a government informant, identified as “CW” in court records, to exchange child pornographic images and to meet at CW’s home to have sex with a 13-year-old boy. He was fired from his job as Cantwell’s scheduler when he was arrested.
CW, who had previously met and exchanged pornographic images with McHaney, contacted McHaney around 12:15 p.m. Nov. 30 on America Online to set up the tryst with the 13-year-old, court records show.
The two held a conversation, and after about 10 minutes, CW asked McHaney whether he would be at work all day, records show. McHaney said he could take a long lunch, and that’s when CW asked him whether he would like to have sex with a 13-year-old boy.
McHaney’s response: “I’ll be there,” court records show.
McHaney also agreed to bring a flash drive containing 1,000 images of child pornography.
At 1:15 p.m. that same day, McHaney was arrested in the lobby of CW’s Northwest apartment building.
When law enforcement agents searched McHaney, they found a flash drive with 600 child pornographic images. The majority of those images were prepubescent boys ranging in age from 3 years old to young teens. Among the images were videos of young boys engaging in sex acts.
McHaney pleaded guilty to the child pornography possession charge in February.
The case was investigated by a joint FBI and District of Columbia police task force that targets suspects who exploit children.
