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Press Release

Federal Jury Finds Former Ledyard Resident Guilty Of Child Pornography Offenses

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut
 
March 6, 2013

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in Bridgeport has found MATTHEW WALLACE, 31, of Westerly, R.I., formerly of Ledyard, guilty of one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.  The trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton began on March 4 and the jury returned its verdict this afternoon after deliberating for approximately two hours.

According to the evidence disclosed during the trial, on January 19, 2010, a Milford Police detective assigned to the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force logged into a peer-to-peer Internet file sharing network and downloaded several images of child pornography from an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address assigned to WALLACE at his Ledyard residence.  On May 28, 2010, law enforcement agents conducted a court-authorized search of WALLACE’s residence and seized computers and hard drives.  Forensic examination of the seized items revealed more than 500 images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Judge Eginton has scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2013, at which time WALLACE faced a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

WALLACE has been released on a $100,000 bond since his arrest on December 16, 2010.  Following today’s verdict, Judge Eginton ordered WALLACE to be confined to his home.  A hearing has been scheduled for March 13, 2013, to determine if WALLACE will be allowed to remain released on bond, or if he will be detained until his sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Milford Police Department.  The Connecticut State Police and the Ledyard Police Department have provided valuable assistance to the investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ray Miller and Neeraj Patel.

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.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov

Updated April 25, 2023