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Press Release
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that Michael Dupont, 37, of Westfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced on February 24, 2014, in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont, to serve 36-months imprisonment following his guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography. United States District Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered the defendant to serve a five-year term of supervised release and to pay a $100 special assessment.
According to court records and proceedings, Dupont used the Internet to access chat rooms where he would meet whom he believed to be teenage girls. Dupont and the girls would communicate in the chat rooms and by private messaging. The chats became sexual in nature and involved the girls sending to Dupont naked pictures of themselves. Images of one girl were found on Dupont’s computer.
United States Attorney Coffin commended the work of the Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Mr. Dupont was represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara A. Masterson.
United States Attorney Coffin noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney=s Offices and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.