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Press Release

Appleton Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin

United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 10, 2019, Seth M. Rector (age: 37) was sentenced by the Honorable Chief Judge William C. Griesbach to two years in prison and eight years supervised release following his guilty plea to possession of child pornography, contrary to 18 U.S.C. Sections 2252A. As part of his sentence, Rector must also comply with sex offender registry requirements. Those requirements mandate Rector to advise registry officials where he is living, working or attending school.

            According to court documents, beginning in about November 2016, Rector obtained adult and child pornography via the BitTorrent network. Law enforcement observed that Rector was sharing files with names suggestive of child pornography. On September 26, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Rector’s residence. Two desk top computers were seized and later searched. The two computers contained a total of 573 child pornography image files as well as BitTorrent file sharing software. In imposing his sentence, Judge Griesbach stressed the serious nature of the offense, including the horrific nature of the images as well as the length of time over which he obtained the images.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Roach, who was assisted by Victim Witness Specialist Jan Klika.   

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Updated May 14, 2019