Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Child Pornography Charges

WASHINGTON – Stanley R. MacKinnon, 66, of Haverhill, Mass., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for his receipt, attempted receipt and possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts and Robert Bethel, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).

MacKinnon was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel in Boston. On March 24, 2011, MacKinnon pleaded guilty to five counts of receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The charges against him were the result of an ongoing national investigation by USPIS of individuals who purchase child pornography via U.S. mail. In pleading guilty, MacKinnon admitted to ordering and purchasing child pornography movies depicting prepubescent minors, and receiving the movies via U.S. mail. MacKinnon also admitted to possessing images of child pornography that he had produced approximately 30 years ago.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case against MacKinnon was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael I. Yoon of the District of Massachusetts and CEOS Trial Attorney Bonnie L. Kane of the Criminal Division. The case was investigated by USPIS and the Haverhill Police Department.