Derry Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

            CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced that Peter Morency, 34, of Derry, New Hampshire pleaded guilty today to three counts of producing child pornography.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, Morency filmed and photographed himself performing sexual acts on two children. The children, who were known to Morency, appeared to be sleeping at the time. A forensic examination of devices possessed by Morency uncovered over 5,000 still images and over 2,000 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, of which approximately 30 still images and 37 videos were created by the defendant. The defendant admitted to possessing and to producing the images.

            Morency will be sentenced on February 22, 2018.  He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison on each count of conviction.

            “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect the children of the Granite State,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley.  “Those who exploit children cause untold amounts of harm to their victims and our entire community.  We will continue to be aggressive in our efforts to identify and prosecute those who produce child pornography to ensure that they cannot exploit additional children or cause further harm.”

          "The sexual exploitation of children is a heinous crime that causes irreparable harm to its young victims," said Michael Shea, acting special agent in charge of HSI Boston. "To rescue these innocent victims, HSI works closely with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities from child predators."

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Derry Police Department, and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes members of several other police departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Georgiana Konesky.

            In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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.

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