Provincetown Man Charged with Possessing and Receiving Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Provincetown man was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court in Boston with receipt and possession of child pornography.

Kerry Adams, 59, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Adams was held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Oct. 22, 2019, before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley.

According to court documents, a federal search warrant was executed on Oct. 17, 2019 at Adams’s residence in Provincetown were multiple devices, including laptops, thumb drives and SD cards were located. During an initial on-scene forensic review of a laptop, hundreds of files in the computer’s peer-to-peer software program were located. At least a dozen of these files were found to contain child pornography, and three of the files contained videos depicting pre-pubescent boys engaging in sexual acts. During a consensual interview, Adams initially denied downloading child pornography onto his computer, but eventually admitted that he had searched the term “teen boy,” in the past.  It is alleged that Adams initially denied that there would be pornography of 10-14 year-old-boys on his computer, but later admitted that 13-15 year-old-boys were once of sexual interest to him, but are not anymore.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Stephen Marks, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Secret Service in Boston; and Barnstable Police Chief Matthew Sonnabend made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Provincetown Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns, or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274. 

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/.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.