Gregory Kyle Seerden, 32, an honoured navy SEAL who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will spend 27 years in prison for several accounts of sexual abuse and for admitting to sexually abusing a 5-year-old family member.
According to the Washington Post, Norfolk federal court sentenced Seerden to almost the maximum sentence, which is 30 years.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, in her first public statement since becoming acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said, "Gregory Seerden victimized a child…As this prosecution makes clear, the United States will seek to hold accountable anyone who sexually exploits our most vulnerable citizens."
In January 2017 a female acquaintance accused him of sexual assault at a naval base after a night out. Seerden who was stationed in San Diego was in Virgina with his family at the time for holidays.
Following the accusations, Navy investigators went through Seerden’s phone where they discovered that the officer was in possession of child pornography.
A detailed forensic investigation further revealed objectionable videos, including four in which Seerden himself was seen sexually abusing a 5-year-old family member in her sleep. Seerden was sleeping in the same room as his victim and recorded the act just a day before the alleged assault.
Earlier, investigations carried out by the Navy unearthed that Seerden had abused another family member in San Diego, 2014 when she was 7. The investigations were dropped as the mother was reluctant to pursue the case. However, in 2017 again, the case was reopened after his arrest.
Seerden’s public defender has stated that the Navy SEAL himself had been abused as a child and has cited injuries and trauma during service as possible reasons for his instability.
Seerden’s mother, in a letter to the court wrote, "After some rough times in his adolescent period, Kyle enlisted in the Navy. When he came back from Afghanistan he was hurting inside but still trying to be himself…Some of his friends were lost and others severely injured and it seemed to really impact him. However, it was his experience in Iraq that I believe really changed him."
Seerden will pay an additional USD 10,000 fine and serve 25 years of supervised release, over and above his sentence.
