Registered Sex Offender Arrested for Possessing Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Beverly man was arrested today on child pornography offenses.

Robert Miller, 59, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston this afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson, Miller was detained pending a hearing set for May 10, 2023. 

This case arose from an investigation of a secure online chat platform often used for, among other things, accessing and exchanging child pornography. According to the charging documents, Miller was identified as a member of a large-scale group chat trading child pornography on the platform. During a search of Miller’s residence today, approximately 15 electronic devices were seized and allegedly found to contain multiple videos depicting child pornography.

In September 2018, Miller was convicted of possession of child pornography in Essex County Superior Court, for which he received a three-year probationary sentence and was required to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts.   

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting 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.

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.