Blackstone Man Charged with Producing Child Pornography

BOSTON—A Blackstone, Massachusetts man was charged with production of child pornography earlier this month by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia and arrested on October 16, 2012, in Massachusetts.

Christopher Ceolinski, 37, was charged in a criminal complaint of using, persuading, inducing, and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct which was transported in interstate commerce.

The complaint alleges that, between August 2011 and September 2012, Ceolinski engaged in an online relationship with a 15-year-old female in Georgia. The relationship started following an unsolicited “friend request” on Facebook. After three weeks of conversing online, Ceoliniski began sending pictures of his genitalia to the female. While communicating via Skype, Ceoliniski asked the female to describe sexual encounters between the two of them. Ceoliniski asked her to send him sexually explicit pictures of herself over the Internet, which she did after he provided her with a new Apple iPod with a camera for that purpose. In July 2012, Ceolinski traveled to Georgia and engaged in sexual acts with the young female, who had turned 16 years of age.

If convicted, Ceolinski faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Ceolinski will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, which filed the criminal complaint in this case. A hearing will be held in federal court in Boston on October 22, 2012, to determine whether Ceolinski, who is currently being held without bail, should be transported in custody or should be released to travel on his own to the federal court in Georgia.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; United States Attorney Edward J. Tarver of the Southern District of Georgia; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Mark Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlanta Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tabak in Boston and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Greenwood in the Southern District of Georgia.

The details contained in the criminal complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.