Skowhegan Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Christopher Kruse, 51, of Skowhegan, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Lance E. Walker to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for possessing and receiving child pornography.  He was also ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution, $10,200 in special assessments, and a $1,000 fine. 

According to court records, in November 2017, Kruse used the internet to receive several videos depicting child pornography, with many of the images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent children by adult men.  He added these videos to a collection of child pornography he had kept on his personal computer since 2015.  The collection was discovered on November 28, 2017 when law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Kruse’s home.  

In imposing the sentence, Judge Walker noted that this case reflected “a grave concern to public safety that is greater than in the average case of possession of child pornography,” and that Kruse had “sought out and collected some of the most vile and disturbing images.”

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and the Bangor and Skowhegan Police Departments.  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.  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.