Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 46 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Children and Possessing Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Pittsfield, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield for sexually exploiting minor children in his home. The defendant documented the sexual abuse and possessed hundreds of files of other child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Justin Benoit, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 46 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, during which time Benoit will be required to register as a sex offender. The defendant was also ordered to pay the full amount of restitution requested by the victims. Benoit pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography in May 2025, during testimony from the government’s final witness at trial. The defendant was arrested on Feb. 15, 2022 and has been in custody since that time. According to court records, Benoit has several related state charges pending in Central Berkshire District Court.

“This defendant’s conduct is nothing short of diabolical. He preyed on innocent young children, including two who were entrusted to his care, whom he repeatedly sexually abused. Each image that he captured will result in an eternity of trauma and revictimization on these children. Furthermore, he exploited countless children he never met and did not know from the comfort of his own home through his enormous collection of child sexual abuse material. He is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “It is our hope that this sentence brings some measure of justice to the victims in this case, and protects other children from further exploitation at his hands.”

“What Justin Benoit admitted to is morally reprehensible. He raped and exploited three children under his care and documented the abuse to fuel his own sadistic desires,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “This sentence is richly deserved and there’s no question the public is safer with Mr. Benoit behind bars, locked away where he can’t victimize anyone else’s child.”

In November 2021, local law enforcement learned that Benoit had uploaded CSAM files to the internet. During a search of Benoit’s residence in February 2022, multiple electronic devices were seized which revealed hundreds of CSAM files as well as images and videos documenting Benoit’s sexual abuse of children at his residence. He was immediately taken into custody.

Further analysis of Benoit’s devices revealed that he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including files that depicted sadistic sexual abuse of children as young as infants and toddlers.

Additionally, Benoit possessed approximately 130 files documenting his rape and sexual exploitation of two minor females and one minor male on multiple separate occasions between February 2021 and February 2022. A pair of blue and white checkered boxer shorts and bedding found at Benoit’s residence were identical to those in the files documenting the sexual abuse. Two of the minor victims Benoit abused were younger than 12 years old when he produced CSAM of them, one of whom was in Benoit’s care at the time of the incidents.

U.S. Attorney Foley; FBI SAC Docks; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Pittsfield Police Department and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of the Major Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

The case is 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/.