Gardiner Man Pleads Guilty to Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Richard Bailey, 67, of Gardiner, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to production and possession of child pornography.

According to court records, law enforcement agents received information that the defendant was uploading images of child pornography to various websites.  Based on this information, they obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s home in Gardiner.  During the execution of the search warrant, the defendant admitted that agents would find multiple images of child pornography involving underage boys on his electronic devices.  The investigation revealed that the defendant produced child pornography by encouraging adults in the Philippines during online chats to engage in sexual activity with children that was videotaped, photographed, and disseminated in real time over the internet. A forensic examination of the defendant’s electronic devices revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography including images obtained from the Philippine sex shows.

The defendant faces between 15 and 30 years in prison on the production count and up to 20 years on the possession count.  He faces supervised release for life and a $250,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.  This 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. 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, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.