Connecticut Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison For Distribution of Child Pornography

            WASHINGTON – Joseph Brown, 49, of North Franklin, Conn., was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Brown pled guilty to the charge in February 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan. Following completion of his prison term, Brown will be placed on 15 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

            According to the government's evidence, beginning on Aug. 31, 2015, Brown engaged in communications with an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site. During the course of the communications, Brown provided the undercover officer with video and images of child pornography. Brown also expressed interest in engaging in sexual acts with a purported female minor.

            In order to confirm the identity of the defendant, the undercover officer, together with other FBI agents, initiated an investigation that led them to Brown. Brown was registered as a sex offender as a result of a 2005 conviction in Connecticut for distribution of child pornography for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. Brown was arrested in Connecticut on Sept. 17, 2015, and was brought to the District of Columbia to face charges, and has remained in custody ever since. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement seized a cellular phone and tablet. These were submitted for forensic analysis. Law enforcement located thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography on the two devices.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD.  In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorney's 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.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu, Assistant Director Vale, and Chief Newsham praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Criminal Investigator John Marsh and Paralegal Specialist Michelle Wicker, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea L. Hertzfeld, who prosecuted the case.