West Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses
Faces 19 Years in Federal Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 20, 2010 |
BOSTON, MA—A West Springfield man was convicted in federal court of advertising, distributing, and possessing child pornography.
JEREMIAH JAY SALAMON, 35, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor to two counts of advertising material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of distributing material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.
At Friday's plea hearing, the prosecutor told the court that had the case proceeded to trial, the government's evidence would have proven that on June 12, 2009, an FBI undercover agent downloaded approximately 313 files of child pornography through a peer-to-peer file sharing program from another user called "like22look." The investigation subsequently determined that "like22look" was operated by Salamon from his West Springfield residence, which he shared with his parents.
On July 30, 2009, FBI agents searched Salamon's residence and seized from his basement bedroom various computer media that contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including many files that depicted the rape and sexual torture of very young children. On both June 12, 2009 and July 30, 2009, Salamon knowingly published a notice and advertisement on the peer-to-peer file sharing program that was seeking to exchange visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and made his vast collection of child pornography available to selected others.
As a part of the plea agreement, Salamon agreed to serve 19 years and eight months in prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, which must be accepted by the Court. Judge Ponsor scheduled sentencing for April 11, 2011.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the West Springfield Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.
This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.