Rochester Man Indicted For Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

CONCORD – Heath Gauthier, 46, of Rochester, New Hampshire, was indicted on one count of possession of child pornography on August 2, 2023. Gauthier will appear in federal court in Concord at a later date.

According to the charging documents, Gauthier was indicted on February 15, 2023, on charges of wire fraud, attempted wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with his alleged fraudulent applications for more than $1 million in CARES Act loans. Gauthier was arrested on February 16, 2023, and investigators executed a search warrant on his residence and person. The search warrant authorized the search of his electronic devices. Subsequently, investigators located one or more computer disks and other material that contained one or more images of child sexual abuse material.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.  If a defendant has a qualifying prior conviction, the charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years and at least 10 years. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

IRS Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigations led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Hunter is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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