Kent man faces federal child pornography charges
Published 2:37 pm Monday, May 11, 2026
A 32-year-old Kent man faces federal charges of production and possession of child pornography after law enforcement tracked him down when he reportedly tried to entice a young teen to send him sexually explicit images.
Mordien Kan Thach pleaded not guilty Monday, May 11 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three counts of production of child pornography, attempted enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and unlawful possession of firearms, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Thach has a trial date of July 6 before U.S. District Judge Tana Lin.
“This case is part of Iron Pursuit, a one-month, nationwide enforcement surge to find child victims of sex abuse and arrest child sex predators,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “In April 2026, more than 200 child victims were located and over 350 child sexual abuse offenders were arrested. In this Western Washington case, four victims were identified, and the investigation remains ongoing. If you abuse children, we will find you.”
According to records filed in the case, in August 2025, the FBI in Wisconsin was contacted by a young teen about an adult who had sent and requested sexually explicit images. Ultimately the adult was identified as Thach, and law enforcement obtained a court authorized search warrant for Thach’s Kent residence in late January.
In the search, law enforcement reportedly seized dealer quantities of cocaine, and ketamine as well as numerous firearms – two of which were reported stolen. On Thach’s electronic devices allegedly were images of child sexual abuse created by Thach with young teens he met via the internet. Two of the teens reside in Western Washington and a third resides in North Dakota.
Thach remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.
Production of child pornography is punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison, according to DOJ. Attempted enticement of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and unlawful possession of firearms is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the FBI as part of Operation Iron Pursuit.
The department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.
The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), email tips.fbi.gov or by calling your local FBI field office.
