Springfield Man Indicted on Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON – A Springfield man was indicted today by a federal grand jury on child pornography offenses.

Ross Lopata, 32, was indicted today on four counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Lopata was previously charged by criminal complaint on June 12, 2020.

The indictment alleges that between 2018 and June 11, 2020, Lopata received and possessed child pornography.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Lelling’s Springfield Branch 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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