Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

BOSTON – A former Massachusetts man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to possessing and distributing child pornography and to failing to register as a sex offender. The offenses stem from two separate cases.

Scot Letourneau, 44, formerly of Quincy and Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography; and in a separate case, he pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2018.

In early 2015, law enforcement officers learned that an individual was trading images of child pornography on Kik Messenger, an instant messaging application, with an individual in Connecticut.  Further investigation linked the Kik Messenger account to Letourneau. On May 21, 2015, a search warrant was executed at Letourneau’s home, when a preliminary review of his cellphone revealed that he exchanged images of child pornography with others.  Forensic analysis revealed that Letourneau had a collection of approximately 103 videos and more than 500 images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and acts.

After he was arrested and charged in May 2015, the government sought to detain Letourneau pending trial based on his prior convictions, including a 2004 conviction in Cheshire County Superior Court for distribution of child pornography. However, on Aug. 5, 2015, the court released Letourneau on an electronic bracelet and home confinement in Maine. On Nov. 3, 2015, Letourneau fled to New Mexico; he was apprehended in Denver in March 2017. 

In addition, as a result of his 2004 conviction for distribution of child pornography in New Hampshire, Letourneau is required to register as a sex offender, which he failed to do while living in New Mexico as a fugitive under an alias.

Due to Letourneau’s previous child pornography conviction, the current charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and no greater than 40 years in prison; and the charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum of 10 years and no greater than 20 years in prison. Both charges provide for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of failure to register as a sex offender provides for no greater than 10 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb, U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of Colorado; the Adams County (Colo.) Sheriff’s Department; Connecticut State Police; Quincy Police Department; and U.S. Coast Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.