Winslow Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing Child Pornography

Contact: Jody Mullis
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Darrin Cates, 47, of Winslow, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S District Court by Judge John A Woodcock, Jr. to 10 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography.  Cates pleaded guilty on October 23, 2015.

According to court records, on January 9, 2015, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant at Cates’s residence and seized computer equipment. A forensic examination revealed about 550 images and 276 videos of child pornography depicting two to 11-year-old children.  Cates admitted that he possessed large quantities of child pornography and that he was interested in eight to 12-year-old girls. 

In imposing sentence, Judge John Woodcock noted that the images were “egregious,” “disturbing” and “abhorrent” and said that Cates “committed a crime that touches upon a societal nerve,” and that it was “profoundly troubling” that Cates collected such “truly sick images.”           

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