Staff Sgt. Justin P. Murphy was sentenced to four years of confinement after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a child. (Abner Guzman/U.S. Air Force)
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — An Army staff sergeant was sentenced to four years of confinement on May 15 after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a child.
Staff Sgt. Justin P. Murphy, 33, a motor transport operator assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 51st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, was also reduced in rank to E-1 and will receive a dishonorable discharge.
Murphy came to the attention of law enforcement on July 23, 2025, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children forwarded a report to the Olympia Police Department of a child sexual abuse video discovered online.
An investigation was initiated, and officers were able to trace the material’s source to an IP address associated with Murphy’s home in Yelm, Wash. When civilian law enforcement discovered Murphy was a staff sergeant assigned to JBLM, the case was transferred to the Army Criminal Investigation Division for investigation.
The video shows Murphy acting in a sexually abusive way with a minor family member.
“Sexual crimes against children are especially heinous, and the result in this case sends a message to the accused and others seeking to commit such horrific crimes,” said Maj. Ryan Keeter, Sixth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, who served as lead prosecutor in the court-martial.
Murphy will serve his confinement at the Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Upon release, he will be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the Olympia Police Department and Army CID’s Western Field Office.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel was created by Congress to ensure independent prosecution of murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and other sex crimes.
Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea.
