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Press Release
CONCORD, N.H.: Brian Powell, 34, of Salem, New Hampshire, was sentenced to spend 25 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley.
According to court records and statements in court, an Electronic Service Provider (ESP) alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an individual had uploaded a child pornography file to the ESP’s website. That file was ultimately traced back to the Powell’s residence in Salem, New Hampshire. In 2015, the Salem Police Department obtained a search warrant for the residence and seized Powell’s personal computer. A detective with the Rochester, New Hampshire Police Department – also a member of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force – analyzed the contents of the computer and discovered a collection of child pornography.
That collection included several videos which the defendant had manufactured himself by initiating contact with minor females through an anonymous internet chat service. Powell, persuading the females to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which the defendant then captured on video without their knowledge. On at least two occasions, the defendant used advanced computer software to track the victims’ IP addresses which allowed him to reengage in conversation with them. He then played the previously-recorded videos for the victims and threatened to publicize them unless the victims engaged in additional sexual conduct. The victims complied and the defendant recorded these acts as well.
Powell, who previously pleaded guilty, will be on supervised release for ten years following his release from prison.
“The defendant’s conduct merits the substantial sentence that the court imposed today,” Acting U.S. Attorney Farley said. “He manipulated young women into exposing themselves and then threatened them with public humiliation if they did not engage in sexual acts that he could record. This reprehensible conduct robbed these young women of their innocence and cannot be tolerated. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners each day to identify and prosecute those who abuse children by producing child pornography.”
The investigation in this case was led by the Salem, New Hampshire Police Department with the assistance of the New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Rochester and Derry police departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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