New Milford Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 17, 2012 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Richard Michael Bellemare, 63, of New Milford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, agents with the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force conducted a court-authorized search of Bellemare’s residence in June 2010 and seized computer components, including an external hard drive. On that date, Bellemare told agents that he had been viewing child pornography for approximately 10 years and would use search terms to search for images of children of specific ages. Subsequent forensic analysis of the seized computer components revealed more than 50,000 images and 700 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images and videos contained depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit activity.
On July 25, 2012, Bellemare pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarala V. Nagala and David E. Novick.
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.
The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which is housed at the main FBI office in New Haven, investigates crimes occurring over the Internet, including online crimes against children, and provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. For more information about the task force, or to report child exploitation crimes, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.