Plainville Man Who Received and Distributed Child Pornography Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 18, 2013 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Steven Donald Lewis, 23, of Plainville, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receiving and distributing child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 9, 2010, a Bristol Police Department detective assigned to the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force in New Haven logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded 34 images of child pornography from a shared directory maintained by Lewis. On December 8, 2010, Lewis was arrested at his dormitory residence at the University of Connecticut. On that date, law enforcement agents also seized Lewis’ laptop computer.
Analysis of the seized computer revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography. Included in his collection of child pornography were images of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Forensic review also revealed that Lewis distributed child pornography images and videos through the file sharing program located on his computer.
On August 13, 2012, Lewis waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
Lewis has been released on bond under supervision of the United States Probation Office since shortly after his arrest. He has been ordered to report to prison on March 1, 2013.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarala V. Nagala.
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.