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Press Release

Former Augusta Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maine

BANGOR, Maine: A former Augusta resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for possessing child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Michael C. O’Brien, 40, now of New Lenox, Illinois, to 87 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. O’Brien was also ordered to pay $19,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty on November 18, 2019.

According to court records, O’Brien possessed thousands of images and hundreds of videos of child pornography that he had received over the internet. Many of these images and videos depicted prepubescent girls under 12 years old. Law enforcement officers discovered the child pornography when they executed a search warrant at O’Brien’s home on September 26, 2018.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit investigated the case. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’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, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Contact

Chris Ruge
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Updated June 7, 2021

Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component