Castine Man Who Used Snapchat to Send Obscene Images to 12-Year-Old in Sexual Exploitation Attempt Sentenced to 7 Years

BANGOR, Maine:  A Castine man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for transferring obscene material to a minor, attempting to possess child sexual abuse material, and obstructing a federal investigation.

U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Nicholas Wood, 26, to 84 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. Wood pleaded guilty on April 24, 2023.

According to court records, in late July and early August 2018, Wood used Snapchat to send a series of obscene images of himself to a 12-year-old child. Wood attempted to manipulate the young victim into engaging in sex acts with him and asked her to send him sexually explicit images. After being informed by federal agents that they were investigating the use of his Snapchat account to send obscene images to minors, Wood deleted the application and associated data from his phone to prevent its use in the investigation.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2022, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included more than 80,000 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts, an increase of 82% from 2021 to 2022, and more than 31 million reports of child sexual abuse material. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org/. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

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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