Rota Resident Sentenced to 10 years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

SAIPAN, CNMI– SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Vincent Masga Songsong, age 40, from the island of Rota in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  The Court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment and sex offender registration anywhere Songsong lives, works, or goes to school.  A restitution hearing is set for September 27, 2024.

Songsong was convicted of the same crime in 2015 and sentenced to 78 months imprisonment.  He began a term of supervised release thereafter.  On June 23, 2023, a United States Probation officer visited Songsong’s place of employment on the island of Rota.  Songsong was found in possession of a cellular phone not registered with the Probation Office.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the phone and, through forensic analysis, located more than 1,000 video and image files depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.  To date, approximately 123 victims have been identified.

“The possession of CSAM is an unconscionable crime that affects the most vulnerable in our communities,” stated United States Attorney Anderson.  “The harm to child victims can last a lifetime.  Our Project Safe Childhood initiative continues to target those who seek to prey on children.  Our office will pursue these cases whenever the evidence supports prosecution.”

“The FBI is dedicated to ensuring the safety of children in the United States and its territories,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill.  “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that crimes against children will never be tolerated. Our collective efforts to promote public safety in Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands remains steadfast, and the FBI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable those who prey upon the children of our communities.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Albert S. Flores Jr., Assistant United States Attorney in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

This was a Project Safe Childhood (PSC) case, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, PSC 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 PSC, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.