West Warwick Man Admits to Possessing 7,000 Images and Videos of Child Pornography

PROVIDENCE – Joseph Seymour, 39, of West Warwick, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to possession of child pornography.

Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Seymour admitted to the Court that in July 2016, he was in possession of more than 7,000 digital images or videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the images and videos depicted prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Seymour’s guilty plea is announced by Acting United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Shelly A. Binkowski, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

According to court documents and information presented to the court, in July 2016, a Tempe, Arizona computer repair service notified the Tempe Police Department that they discovered images on a digital hard drive that appeared to be child pornography. The hard drive had been sent to the repair service via a Rhode Island-based manufacturer of electronic products. The Arizona company is often used by the Rhode Island-based manufacturer as a sub-contractor for computer repair services. 

The Tempe Police Department reviewed some of the material on the hard drive, and, after determining that some of the contents they reviewed depicted child pornography, they contacted that Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The hard drive was transferred to the ICAC Task Force and then to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) for further examination. In addition to numerous documents and other files containing identifying information belonging to Joseph Seymour, a forensic examination by a USPIS Digital Evidence Unit revealed over 7,000 images of child pornography stored in more than 160 subfolders.

On December 21, 2016, USPIS agents and members of the ICAC Task Force arrested Seymour while executing a court authorized search of Seymour’s residence and seizing numerous computers and digital storage devices.

Seymour is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2018. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison followed by 3 years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

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