Seattle resident convicted at trial of directing sexual abuse of young child in Vietnam

Seattle - A 38-year-old Seattle man was convicted late yesterday of producing child sexual abuse imagery for his scheme to obtain images of sexually abused children from a coconspirator in Vietnam, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Richard Stanley Manness Jr. was convicted of two federal felonies following a three-day jury trial. Jurors deliberated about three hours before returning the jury verdict. Manness faces a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on November 14, 2025.

According to records filed in the case, law enforcement in Vietnam rescued two young children who had been kidnapped off the street in April 2024. The mother of the two sisters was distraught when she could not find them. The young girls were taken to an Airbnb by Maness' female coconspirator. Records showed Maness rented the apartment. Messages between Manness and the coconspirator documented him directing sexual abuse of a child as young as 6-years-old. The coconspirator sent the images of the child sexual abuse to Maness over the internet. Maness had plans to travel to Vietnam for further child sexual abuse. Maness was arrested in a Seattle apartment after detectives in Vietnam contacted Homeland Security Investigations with information about the child kidnapping and abuse. Maness has remained in federal custody since his arrest on August 28, 2024.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Cecelia Gregson.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.