Southeastern Connecticut Pediatrician Arrested on Federal Child Pornography Charge
Project Safe Childhood

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that TODD PARRILLA, 47, of Pellegrino Road, Stonington, was arrested today by members of the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force and charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography.

According to allegations contained in court documents and statements made in court, on July 8, 2011, a law enforcement officer in Kansas City, Missouri, acting in an undercover capacity, logged into a publicly available Internet file-sharing program and downloaded 104 images of child pornography from a shared directory maintained by PARRILLA.

PARRILLA is currently employed as a pediatrician in Pawcatuck, Connecticut.

PARRILLA was arrested this morning following the execution of a search and seizure warrant at his residence. Seized during the execution of the warrant were several computer-related components, including three detachable hard drives. Investigators also seized a bag containing more than one hundred printed images of what appears to be child pornography from a closet in PARRILLA’s bedroom.

PARRILLA appeared this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford and has been ordered detained pending a detention hearing that is scheduled for Friday, August 26 at 10:00 a.m.

If convicted of the charge of possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography, PARRILLA faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The Stonington Police Department is assisting the investigation.

The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force is housed in the main FBI office in New Haven, Connecticut. Citizens who have information that may be helpful to this investigation are encouraged to call the Task Force at 203-777-6311.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Deborah R. Slater and Paul H. McConnell as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance,” which are aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.