West Bridgewater Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON – A West Bridgewater man pleaded guilty yesterday to receiving and possessing child pornography from an online communication application.

Juan Levano, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for March 12, 2025.

An investigation into an internet-based communications application used for the trafficking of child pornography identified Levano as a likely user of the platform who participated in groups where child pornography was disseminated.

Levano rented a room at a residence that is registered as a residential daycare. Both Levano and the owner of the residence and daycare denied that Levano worked at the residential daycare and denied that Levano had any contact with the children who attend it. During a search of the residence, various electronic devices belonging to Levano were seized.

During the search, Levano admitted to being a member of several groups on the chat application and obtaining child pornography from those groups. A review of Levano’s phone revealed that Levano was a member of several active groups on the platform that included the exchange of child pornography, including children ranging from infancy to 13 years old. Additionally, investigators identified more than 100 video and image files, most of which appear to depict child pornography, stored in a photo application on Levano’s phone.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $ 250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

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

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the West Bridgewater Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Office’s 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.