Fall River Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON – A Fall River man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston for distribution and possession of child pornography.

Frank D. Almeida, 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 63 months in prison and five years of supervised release.  Following the completion of his sentence, Almeida will be required to register as a sex offender with the Sex Offender Registration Board.  In April 2015, Almeida pleaded guilty to distribution and possession of child pornography.

In June 2014, law enforcement discovered that Almeida was using a public file sharing program to post pictures and videos of minors between the ages of five and 12 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct with adults.  In December 2014, federal agents executed a search warrant on Almeida’s Fall River residence, and an on-site forensic team determined that a computer, various digital devices, hard drives and other media storage devices contained multiple images and videos of child pornography.  Almeida was arrested following the execution of the search warrant and has been held in federal custody since that time. 

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, and Fall River Police Chief ­­Daniel S. Racine, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Ortiz’s Major Crime Unit.   

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.