Danielson Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Crimes

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that STEVEN E. SYLVESTRE, 41, of Danielson, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release. On April 3, 2009, SYLVESTRE pleaded guilty to one count of using the Internet to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity, and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, beginning in August 2008, SYLVESTRE engaged in numerous Internet conversations with a person he believed to be a teenage girl under the age of 16, but who was, in fact, an undercover Milford Police officer working with the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force and posing as the girl. Through these Internet conversations, SYLVESTRE arranged with the “girl” to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. On the morning of October 6, 2008, law enforcement officers arrested SYLVESTRE after he arrived at a shopping plaza in Milford where he had previously arranged to meet the “girl.”

Following his arrest, a search of SYLVESTRE’s personal computer revealed images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Today, Judge Burns ordered SYLVESTRE to pay restitution in the amount of $500 to an identified victim whose image SYLVESTRE possessed.

SYLVESTRE has been detained since his arrest.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Milford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher W. Schmeisser, with the assistance of law student intern Raymond Treadwell.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. 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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