Waterbury Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offense

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Paul D’Ambrosio, 49, of Waterbury, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 8, 2012, a Hartford Police detective assigned to the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded approximately 50 images and 10 videos of child pornography from shared directories maintained by D’Ambrosio. On August 30, 2012, task force agents searched D’Ambrosio’s residence and seized a laptop computer and related components. A forensic search of the computer revealed more than 600 images and videos of child pornography, including images of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct and images of children engaging in sadistic or masochistic conduct.

Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for June 3, 2013, at which time D’Ambrosio faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

D’Ambrosio has been released on bond under electronic monitoring by the United States Probation Office since his arrest on August 30, 2012.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Hartford Police Department. The Waterbury Police Department also assisted the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarala V. Nagala.

The Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which is housed at the main FBI field office in New Haven, investigates crimes against children occurring over the Internet 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.

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.