Biddeford Man Faces Up to 20 Years for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials

PORTLAND, Maine: A Biddeford man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to possession of child sexual abuse materials.

According to court records, in September 2022, federal agents executed a search warrant at the Biddeford residence of Jeffrey Gray, 61, following reports that he had shared child sexual abuse material over a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Investigators seized eight electronic devices, and based on material recovered from those devices, executed a second search warrant in November 2022, recovering three additional devices. A forensic examination of the devices revealed hundreds of child sexual abuse images and videos. Victims depicted in the material recovered included an infant approximately 3-6 months old being sexually abused by an adult man. Gray has a previous conviction in Rockingham (New Hampshire) Superior Court in 2012 for aggravated felonious sexual assault.

Gray faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Maine State Police investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – “child pornography” – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer re-victimization each time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/ or 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action. If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, call 911 or contact your local police or sheriff’s department.

Project Safe Childhood: 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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