Rhode Island Resident Admits Distributing Child Pornography

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Adam C. Cobb, 47, of Portsmouth, RI, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence on February 24, 2015, to one count of child pornography. Cobb was arrested in April 2015, following an investigation by agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (RI ICAC).

Cobb’s guilty plea is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of HSI for New England; and Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

According to court documents and information presented to the court, in January 2015, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported to the RI ICAC that an individual in Rhode Island uploaded images of child pornography to Tumblr.com. The investigation determined that an Internet address at Adam Cobb’s Portsmouth residence was the address used to upload the images.

On March 5, 2015, ICAC Task Force members and HSI agents, supported by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, executed a court-authorized search warrant at Cobb’s Portsmouth residence and seized various digital media, computers and cellular phones. Additionally, the next day, a cell phone was seized from Mr. Cobb by Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as Mr. Cobb entered the United States, having traveled from Tokyo, Japan.  

A forensic examination of the digital media seized resulted in the discovery of photos and videos of child pornography depicting two juvenile females. With the assistance of the Baltimore, Maryland Police Department and HSI offices in Baltimore and in London, England, the RI ICAC determined the identity of both females. Investigators determined that both juvenile females were known to Mr. Cobb.

Adam Cobb, who was arrested on April 3, 2015, charged by way of a federal criminal complaint, is detained in federal custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2016, by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly.

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Contact:

Jim Martin (401) 709-5357

email: USARI.Media@usdoj.gov