Newtown Man Admits Producing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 13, 2013 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDWARD F. WILSON, 29, of Newtown, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford to one count of production of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in approximately 2011 and 2012, WILSON sexually abused a female child, filmed and photographed the abuse with an iPhone, and maintained the videos and images on his home computer. The victim was approximately 4 years old at the time of the abuse.
In addition to filming, photographing, and maintaining videos and images of the sexual abuse that he inflicted on the female child, WILSON traded via e-mail hundreds of other images and videos of child pornography and maintained a collection of child pornography on his home computers.
WILSON is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on May 1, 2013, at which time WILSON faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.
WILSON has been detained in state custody since his arrest on April 13, 2012 for first-degree possession of child pornography, obscenity, and promoting a minor in an obscene performance. On July 10, 2012, he was arrested on 22 additional state charges, including six counts of first-degree sexual assault, five counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, and 11 counts of risk of injury. The state charges are pending.
This case is being investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Newtown 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.