Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Child Pornography Charges

WASHINGTON – Douglas Carruthers, 46, formerly of Rockland, Mass., was sentenced today to 70 months in prison and eight years of supervised release following his prison term for child pornography offenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts.

Carruthers was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns. On March 22, 2010, Carruthers pleaded guilty to five counts of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. This case arose from an investigation by Swiss federal and local police of an individual in Switzerland who was sharing and trading child pornography using the Internet with individuals in the United States.

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 via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case against Carruthers was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the District of Massachusetts and CEOS Trial Attorney Bonnie L. Kane of the Criminal Division. The case was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police; the Plymouth County, Mass., Sheriff's Department; Marshfield, Mass., Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the Albemarle County, Va., Police Department.