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Press Release

Westfield Man Pleads Guilty To Child Pornography Charge

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
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BOSTON - A Westfield man pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Springfield to child pornography charges.

In March 2013, Gardner Whitney, 62, was indicted on possessing child pornography. Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2014. If the court accepts the plea agreement, Whitney will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In December 2012, Whitney possessed child pornography on a laptop computer and on a flash drive which included one video he produced himself which depicted him and a minor female.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Chief John Camerota of the Westfield Police Department, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.


Updated December 15, 2014