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March 18, 2008
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SHELTON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
POSSESSION CHARGE
Kevin
J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,
announced that JONATHAN WRIGHT, 45, of Rock Rim Road, Shelton, pleaded guilty
today before United States Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport
to one count of possession of child pornography.
According to documents filed with
the Court and statements made in Court, on June 23, 2004, special agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at WRIGHT’s residence. Agents
had sought the warrant after an investigation had revealed that WRIGHT used his
home computer to post sexually explicit images of minors to an online photo album
and that he had made that photo album accessible to members of an Internet forum
for collectors of child pornography. During the search of WRIGHT’s
home, law enforcement officers seized a number of home computers and related
equipment. Analysis of the computer hard drives revealed the existence
of more than 600 images of child pornography, including numerous photographs
of children under the age of 12.
WRIGHT is scheduled to be sentenced
by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill on June 6, 2008, at which
time WRIGHT faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up
to $250,000.
This investigation was conducted by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorney James Smart.
United States Attorney O’Connor
noted that this prosecution is part of the United States Department of Justice’s
Project Safe Childhood Initiative, a nationwide initiative designed to protect
children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices,
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better
locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet,
as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project
Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report cases of child exploitation,
please visit www.cybertipline.com.
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