Groton Man Charged with Producing and Possessing Child Sex Abuse Material

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging MICHAEL W. LANDON, 37, of Groton, with child exploitation offenses.

The indictment charges Landon with production of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and with possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

The indictment was returned on March 27, 2024, and Landon appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and pleaded not guilty.  He has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on June 28, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Groton Town Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Mahard through 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.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the New London State Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.