Former Ketchikan church elder pleads guilty in child exploitation case

Dwight Chris John, 74, a former church elder in Ketchikan, pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to possessing child sexual abuse material depicting a child under 12. He faces 10 to 15 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16.

According to court documents described by the U.S. Attorney's Office, John's relatives found a USB drive in May 2024 while he was serving a state sentence for sexually abusing a minor. Investigators found images of a 10-year-old girl John knew through an institution in Mexico, along with more than 1,000 images depicting other children. John admitted producing images of the girl during trips to Mexico in 2018 and 2019.

The FBI and Ketchikan Police Department investigated the case. John was charged in late 2025 through Operation Relentless Justice, a federal child-exploitation enforcement effort.

A federal judge will determine the sentence after considering federal guidelines and other statutory factors.