Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison in 2nd Federal Conviction on Child Pornography Charges

PROVIDENCE – A registered sex offender now twice convicted on federal child pornography charges has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

In December 2016, David A. Skally, 65, was convicted in federal court of possessing and accessing with the intent to view child pornography. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence presented at Skally’s December 2024 trial in this most recent matter:

• Skally admitted, in interviews that were part of his court-ordered supervised release, to viewing sexually explicit images of children “over ten times” after his release from prison while on supervised release.
• In these interviews, Skally admitted some of the images he viewed depicted children 11 years of age or under engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
• Skally engaged in repeated efforts to avoid monitoring software and other safeguards required during his term of probation but subsequent investigation and a forensic examination of Skally’s computer ultimately discovered several images of child pornography, including images of adults engaged in sexual activity with prepubescent victims.

In December 2024, the jury ultimately concluded that Skally both possessed and accessed child pornography with the intent to view it, and specifically found that at least some of the material in question involved prepubescent children under the age of twelve.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William E. Smith sentenced Skally to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. By virtue of his most recent conviction, Skally was also adjudged to be a violator of his previously imposed supervised release and sentenced to a concurrent term of 10 months. Additionally, the court imposed an assessment totaling $10,000 as mandated by the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ronald R. Gendron and Denise M. Barton, with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorneys Christine D. Lowell and John P. McAdams.

This case, investigated by the U.S. Probation Department and Homeland Security Investigations, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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

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