Rocky Hill Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Distribution Charge
Project Safe Childhood Case

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STEPHEN ULISSE, 49, of Rocky Hill, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between October 2004 and October 2006, ULISSE used various peer-to-peer file sharing software programs to receive hundreds of images of child pornography over the Internet. The peer-to-peer programs allowed other users with similar software to download the images of child pornography that ULISSE had received and stored on his computer.

On October 9, 2006, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Glastonbury Police Department conducted a search of ULISSE’s former residence and seized several laptop and desktop computers, hard drives, disks and other computer media. Analysis of the seized items revealed that ULISSE possessed in excess of 600 images and videos of minors, including children under the age of 12, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for January 3, 2011, at which time ULISSE faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, including the Glastonbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anastasia E. King.

The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force investigates crimes occurring over the Internet, including computer intrusion, Internet fraud, copyright violations, Internet threats and harassment and online crimes against children. The Task Force also provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. The Task Force is housed in the main FBI office in New Haven, Connecticut. For more information about the Task Force, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.

U.S. Attorney Fein noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.