Litchfield Man Arrested on Federal Child Pornography Charges

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that Richard Doyle, 63, of Litchfield, was arrested today and charged by federal criminal complaint with receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography.

The criminal complaint alleges that on October 24 and October 27, 2012, a law enforcement agent logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded images of child pornography from shared directories maintained by Doyle.

Doyle was arrested this morning at his residence. Law enforcement agents also seized computers, thumb drives, and related computer components from his residence and his place of employment.

Doyle is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport at approximately 3:00 p.m.

The charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography carries a minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that a complaint is only a charge and 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 case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the New Haven Police Department. The Connecticut State Police has assisted the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj N. Patel and Special Assistant United States Attorney Anjna R. Kapoor.

The Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which is housed at the main FBI office in New Haven, investigates crimes against children occurring over the Internet and provides computer forensic review services for participating agencies. For more information about the task force, or to report child exploitation crimes, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.

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.