Old Town Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

BANGOR, Maine: An Old Town man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for possessing child pornography of a child under 12.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Matthew Podlaski, 40, to 36 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution.

According to court records, between October and December 2022, Podlaski searched the internet for and downloaded images of the sexual abuse of young children, storing the images on multiple devices. Investigators seized 14 devices belonging to him, including laptop computers, flash drives and external storage devices. He pleaded guilty on May 9, 2024.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt, or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – in legal terms, "child pornography” – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are shared or viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678. 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 https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

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