SEATTLE, Wash. — A federal judge sentenced a former Fall City resident to nine years in prison Thursday for possessing images depicting child sexual abuse.
A federal judge also ordered 27-year-old Payden Georgy Bussey to spend the rest of his life under supervision after his release from prison.
“A lengthy sentence is warranted to protect the public.”
U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead, July 16 sentencing hearing
The King County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the federal case through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
CyberTip Led Investigators to Bussey
Federal prosecutors charged Bussey in May 2025 after investigators received information about images shared through the messaging platform Kik.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip from Kik in September 2024. The report identified 15 images that appeared to depict child sexual abuse, according to court records.
Investigators used legal process to identify the account and obtained its associated address in December 2024. A Homeland Security Investigations task force officer recognized the address from a separate King County investigation.
Law enforcement later secured a search warrant for Bussey’s electronic devices. Investigators found images depicting child sexual abuse on his laptop, prosecutors said.
Other Child Rape Charges Remain Pending
Bussey also faces separate charges involving allegations that he sexually assaulted young children in Washington and Utah. Courts have not resolved either case, and Bussey remains presumed innocent of those charges unless proven guilty.
King County sheriff’s deputies arrested Bussey in February 2024 on suspicion of child rape. Prosecutors said that charge remains pending.
Authorities later booked him into the Utah County Jail in October 2024 on a child sodomy charge. That case also remains pending.
According to federal court records, Bussey received a juvenile conviction for molesting a child younger than 12. He had to register as a sex offender and complete treatment. His registration requirement ended in 2017 after he became an adult, prosecutors said.
Prosecutor Sought Nine-Year Sentence
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Harmon asked Whitehead to impose the nine-year prison term.
“Mr. Bussey’s conduct in this case is particularly troubling in light of his prior convictions and that he had successfully completed treatment. This is now his second sex offense, which demonstrates his inability to conform his conduct to the law.”
Laura Harmon, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, sentencing memorandum
Harmon called the recommendation appropriate when considering the case and Bussey’s personal history.
Harmon prosecuted the case. She serves as a senior King County deputy prosecutor and holds a special designation to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.
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