He was sentenced to 7 years for child porn. His time got cut in half

A Pasco man locked up for taking pictures and videos of himself having sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend could go free later this month.

Frank Murillo IV was resentenced to three years and 10 months after a judge agreed with an appellate court ruling that nine of his 10 convictions were based on the same criminal conduct.

That means Murillo’s offender score, which helped determine his sentencing range, was significantly reduced.

Murillo, 24, had been serving a seven-year prison term for the 2014 case.

Now, with the shortened sentence, his projected release date is Feb. 27, according to the Washington state Department of Corrections.

Murillo most recently has been doing his time in Airway Heights Corrections Center.

He told Judge Alex Ekstrom at resentencing in Franklin County Superior Court that he has received General Educational Development certification, has completed a behavioral program to reduce recidivism and future victimization, and has earned a number of college credits.

Murillo also shared that talking with some older inmates who will never get out of prison has helped him think more about how his own actions affect others.

A jury convicted Murillo in May 2015 of 10 counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Jurors cleared him of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession with intent to deliver marijuana.

Murillo was arrested in February 2014 after a Pasco police officer saw him driving near the Tahitian Motor Inn. The officer knew, after numerous contacts with Murillo over the years, that his license was suspended.

Since Murillo was on probation at the time and had violated his conditions, a community corrections officer directed the initial search of the vehicle and Murillo’s motel room. The evidence observed led to a search warrant and the seizure of 78 grams of marijuana in 12 baggies and a jar of pot.

Murillo showed police documents that he was authorized to have medical marijuana, court documents said.

It was while looking through Murillo’s cellphones that Officer Chad Pettijohn located sex videos with a 16-year-old girl. Another warrant gave the officer access to hundreds of pornographic images of the girl on one of the phones, documents said.

The girl reportedly told police that Murillo never talked to her about filming the sex acts but just started recording.

Murillo was 20 at the time.

At sentencing, Murillo’s attorney argued that it was consensual and “legal sex” between a boyfriend and girlfriend, and that his client shouldn’t be punished “for some pictures on his phone.”

The defense also asked that the photographs be treated as one crime.

Ekstrom disagreed, saying each illicit image is a “separate incident of conduct” and that Murillo’s behavior showed a disregard for the girl’s privacy by filming and keeping the videos.

Though it may have been legal for Murillo to have sex with the girl, the pictures and videos are considered child pornography under Washington law.

There was no evidence that Murillo shared the pictures and videos with anyone else.

Murillo said at the time that he didn’t think there was anything illegal about making the videos and would have never done it had he known. He added that he had forgotten about them on the cellphone until discovered by police.

The Court of Appeals ruled last May that Judge Ekstrom made an error when sentencing Murillo in 2015.

The case was sent back to Superior Court for resentencing, at which time Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Astley conceded that nine of the 10 photographs were the same criminal conduct and Murillo deserved a shorter sentencing range.

This story was originally published February 4, 2018 at 1:38 PM with the headline "He was sentenced to 7 years for child porn. His time got cut in half."