October 9, 2015

Thompson Resident Sentenced to Prison for Trading Child Pornography Over the Internet

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that that DARRICK COLLETTE, 34, of Thompson, formerly of Putnam, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by seven years of supervised release, for trading child pornography over the Internet.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 19, 2013, an FBI special agent logged onto a publicly available Internet peer-to-peer file sharing network and downloaded images and videos of child pornography from a computer connected to the network with an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to COLLETTE’s residence while he was living in Putnam. During a search of the residence on June 13, 2013, law enforcement officers seized computers and multiple external hard drives. COLLETTE was arrested at that time after he admitted that he had been downloading and trading child pornography over the Internet for more than 10 years. A subsequent forensic analysis of COLLETTE’s computers and hard drives revealed more than 600 image files and videos of child pornography, including files depicting children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and images of children engaging in sadistic or masochistic conduct.

On October 9, 2014, COLLETTE waived indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

COLLETTE, who is released on bond, was ordered to report to prison on December 18, 2015.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

This prosecution is part of 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.

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