Lewiston Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Nicholas T. Richard, 39, of Lewiston, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to receiving child pornography.

According to court records, in February of this year, Richard used the internet and peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download child pornography images. Richard was at the Auburn Public Library when he downloaded the images using the library’s wireless internet connection. Investigators seized Richard’s laptop computer and other electronic devices from him at the library and obtained a search warrant for them. The laptop contained thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography and child erotica.

Richard faces an enhanced sentence of between 15 and 40 years in prison based on a prior federal child pornography conviction. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of between five years and life. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the Auburn Police Department.