Turner Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Turner Falls man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Edward Dunphy, 79, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni who scheduled sentencing for July 30, 2025. In August 2023, Dunphy was indicted by a federal grand jury.

Dunphy was identified through an investigation of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. During a May 18, 2023 search of Dunphy’s home, over 340,000 files containing child sexual abuse material were located on Dunphy’s computer and external hard drives.  

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to life 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 Leah B. Foley and Randy Maloney, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Montague Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.