Newington Man Admits Possessing Child Pornography

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID M. BESAW, 26, of Horizon Hill Road, Newington, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to one count of possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2008, an undercover FBI agent in Chicago connected to a peer-to-peer Internet file sharing program in an effort to identify individuals distributing child pornography. The investigation revealed that images of child pornography had been sent from an Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to an account holder at 20 Horizon Hill Road in Newington.

On July 16, 2008, the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of the Horizon Hill residence and seized a desktop computer. Agents also interviewed BESAW who acknowledged that he used a peer-to-peer program to download images of child pornography. A subsequent forensic analysis of the hard drive of the seized computer confirmed the existence of child pornography images and videos.

Judge Chatigny has scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2010, at which time BESAW faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a minimum period of five years of supervised release to a maximum of life, and a fine of up to $250,000.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deborah R. Slater.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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