Foster Man Admits to Downloading and Storing Child Sexual Abuse Material

PROVIDENCE – A Foster man previously convicted and incarcerated for sharing sexually explicit photographs online with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl with whom he also attempted to meet near her middle school to engage in sex today pleaded guilty to a charge of receipt of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

John Q. Adams, 36, admitted that on January 13, 2021, he downloaded and stored an explicit video file depicting child sexual abuse material involving two adult males and a prepubescent female. Further investigation determined that Adams had downloaded and stored approximately 112 images and 49 videos of child sexual abuse material.

Adams is scheduled to be sentenced on October 21, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise M. Barton.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

To report suspected online child sexual exploitation and/or abuse, call the Know2Protect Tipline at 1-833-591-KNOW (5669) or visit the NCMEC CyberTipline® at https://report.cybertip.org/

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