Old Town Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Children, and Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Patrick Monahan, 52, of Old Town, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to sexual exploitation of children, and distribution and possession of child pornography.

According to court records, the defendant, posing online as a teenager, separately persuaded two minors to send him over the internet videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity.  The defendant subsequently uploaded some of these videos to a pornographic website that could be accessed by the general public.  In addition, the defendant possessed child pornography on his computer. 

The defendant faces between 25 and 50 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the sexual exploitation of children, between 15 and 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the distribution charge, and between 10 and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the possession charge.  He faces an enhanced sentence because he has a prior federal conviction for possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Old Town, Orono and Bangor Police Departments, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, 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.