Ludlow Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Ludlow man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for sharing child sexual abuse material with an undercover agent and others online.

Robert Avrett, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to seven years in prison and five years of supervised release. In March 2023, Avrett pleaded guilty to distribution and possession of child pornography.  

Avrett was identified as the owner of a Kik messenger account that shared numerous videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to an undercover law enforcement agent. The CSAM Avrett distributed depicted the sexual exploitation of minor victims as young as approximately three-years-old. During search of Avrett’s residence on Nov. 21, 2022, Avrett admitted that he was the operator of the Kik messenger account and that he used the account to share and receive CSAM.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine G. Curley of the Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.

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 May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.