Manchester Woman Sentenced To 15 Years

On Child Exploitation Charge

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Erin Upham, 21, of Manchester, was sentenced in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child, announced United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.

The investigation began in 2013 when the Manchester Police received information from the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations that the defendant, a resident of Manchester, was communicating with a member of the armed services who was currently stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.  Specifically, the Air Force Special Agents informed the Manchester Police that they had information that the defendant’s communication was of a sexual nature and involved a minor child.

Federal search warrants were obtained for various electronic items belonging to Morrison and Upham. A forensic examination revealed digital images of a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The charge was the result of an investigation by the United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Manchester and Derry Police Departments and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and is being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.   Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.