Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that KEITH HAESSLY, 45, of East Hampton, was arrested today and charged by federal criminal complaint with possession, distribution and production of child pornography.

The criminal complaint alleges that in January 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received information that HAESSLY was distributing images of child pornography over the Internet and had engaged in numerous sexually explicit chats related to the sexual exploitation of young boys. Subsequent investigation revealed that HAESSLY has been posing as a female, using the name “Amy Finch,” and used loop recordings of females to entice boys to engage in sexual activity over webcams through video chat programs such as Skype and Omegle. HAESSLY then made recordings of the boys engaged in sexual activity.

Investigators conducted a court-authorized search of HAESSLY’s residence earlier today and seized a laptop computer. HAESSLY was arrested at his place of work.

Following his arrest, HAESSLY appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in New Haven and was ordered detained.

The charge of production of child pornography carries a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

U.S. Attorney Daly 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 matter 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. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.

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.