New Haven Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charge
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 17, 2012 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that Daniel Harrison, 31, of New Haven, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty on Friday, December 14 before United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2011, a Connecticut State Police Trooper assigned to the Computer Crimes Unit logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded images and videos of child pornography from a system connected to the network with an Internet protocol address assigned to Harrison. On November 28, 2011, law enforcement agents conducted a court-authorized search of Harrison’s residence and seized several items, including a laptop computer and a video game console. Forensic analysis of Harrison’s laptop and video game console revealed approximately 4,496 image files and 387 video files of child pornography.
Judge Underhill has scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2013, at which time Harrison faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and a fine of up to $250,000. The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on Harrison’s prior conviction for possession of child pornography.
On September 27, 2002 in Connecticut Superior Court in New Haven, Harrison was convicted of possession of child pornography.
Since his arrest on November 28, 2011, Harrison has been released on a bond.
This case is being investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the New Haven Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
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.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com