Vancouver man sentenced to 18 years for child molestation, porn

A judge sentenced a Vancouver man accused of child molestation and making child pornography to 18 years in prison Wednesday.

Michael S. Couch, 47, pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree rape of a child, second-degree child molestation, sexual exploitation of a minor, first-degree possession of sexual depictions of a minor and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to court records, detectives first started investigating Couch in July 2017 after looking into an internet address thought to be sharing child pornography on peer-to-peer sites. They traced the traffic to Couch’s home, where he lived with his wife, sister-in-law and five of his children.

In multiple searches, investigators recovered multiple pieces of child pornography associated with Couch. They interviewed Couch in November 2017, and he admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography.

Couch also admitted to improperly touching a child and producing multiple videos of the abuse, say court records. He pleaded guilty in April.

In court Wednesday, Couch apologized, saying he was ashamed and intends to take his required treatment seriously.

Superior Court Judge John P. Fairgrieve rejected Couch’s request for greater leniency in the no-contact orders issued for his minor children, saying Couch would need to show substantial progress before the court would consider any alterations.