Former Connecticut Police Captain Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Trading Child Pornography

NEW HAVEN, CT—Former Granby, Conn., Police Captain David L. Bourque, 51, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford, Conn., to 120 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receiving and distributing child pornography, announced David B. Fein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

“This defendant possessed and traded thousands of images and videos of child pornography, many of which horrifically depicted children being sexually abused by adults,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein. “This lengthy term of imprisonment is appropriate for any individual who possesses and distributes child pornography, but especially a police officer who so flagrantly violated his oath to uphold the law. I commend the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the FBI and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force for their joint investigation of the matter, and the tireless work they do every day to investigate these crimes in order to protect children from exploitation.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, on two occasions in March 2011, a Connecticut State Police trooper assigned to the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, acting in an undercover capacity, logged into a publicly available Internet file-sharing program and downloaded several images of suspected child pornography from an account maintained by Bourque. On April 11, 2011, members of the Connecticut State Police were given consent to search Bourque’s office and work computers at the Granby Police Department, where Bourque was employed as a captain. The search of Bourque’s office revealed a laptop and other computer components, including an external hard drive, that were personally owned by Bourque. These items, most of which were encrypted, were seized pursuant to a state search warrant. The state police also executed a state search warrant at Bourque’s residence.

Bourque subsequently met with members of the Connecticut State Police and the FBI, explained how he had encrypted the hard drive to conceal his collection of child pornography and provided investigators with passwords required to access his accounts.

Forensic analysis of two laptops, two external hard drives, and a media card Bourque possessed has revealed approximately 22,282 images and 4,084 videos of child pornography primarily depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent boys, including toddlers and infants. Bourque had organized his child pornography collection in more than 300 subfolders, including those named “photos—babies—men” and “6-10yo boys pics.”

One of the laptops that contained images of child pornography was Bourque’s work-issued computer.

Bourque resigned from the Granby Police Department in June 2011.

On July 21, 2011, Bourque waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Bourque, who has been released on bond since his arrest on April 26, 2011, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the conclusion of today’s sentencing.

Special conditions of Bourque’s term of supervised release include that he receive mental health counseling, have no Internet access, have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 without first receiving permission from the U.S. Probation Office, and that he not hold any position of authority or guidance over children or youth groups involving children who are under the age of 18. Bourque also must not loiter around schools, playgrounds, arcades, or any other places where children under 18 congregate. He also is required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the FBI and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance,” which are aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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