TACOMA, Wash. – A Washington man whose sick texts about molesting children were spotted by a fellow airline passenger was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Michael Kellar, 58, was texting his girlfriend Gail Lynn Burnworth, 52, while on a flight to San Jose in 2017 when a hawk-eyed passenger saw the disturbing messages on his cellphone, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office in Washington’s Western District.
The concerned traveler told authorities that a man sitting in front of her was texting about the abuse with a large font on a large smartphone, Fox News reported.
“I commend the airline passenger who spoke up about the disturbing texts she witnessed on her flight,” US Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a statement. “We all have had that moment when we question: ‘Do I get involved.’”
In the text exchange, Kellar and Burnworth talked about using Benadryl to drug and rape two of the three children, aged 5 and 7 at the time, who lived with Burnworth.
The observant witness snapped a photo of Kellar’s phone and reported it to flight attendants, who alerted law enforcement authorities in San Diego — where Kellar was questioned and arrested.
The Seattle Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force was alerted and obtained a Court-authorized search warrant for Burnworth’s residence and electronic devices. Investigators found sexually explicit images on Burnworth’s devices and found several hundred images of child pornography on Kellar’s laptop, according to the press release.
“Sexual exploitation of children is particularly heinous, and the FBI has made it a priority to hold those who choose to perpetrate these acts accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Raymond Duda, FBI-Seattle. “Mr. Kellar will now answer for his crimes against some of the most vulnerable in our community. This case demonstrates the FBI will rigorously investigate these crimes and reinforces that victimizing children will not be tolerated by law enforcement.”
On September 25, 2019, Kellar pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography and access with intent to view child pornography. Following his prison term, he will be on lifetime supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Burnworth pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and will be sentenced March 27, 2020.
Both defendants have been in custody since their arrests in August 2017.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said, “This case for me … has been the most disturbing case that I have had…. (These offenses) beset on society a waterfall of negative repercussions that can never be repaired.”
