Man gets 18 months for child porn possession

A Springfield man will spend 18 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography followed by five more years of probation after he is released.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140429/NEWS02/704299952

Published April 29, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Man gets 18 months for child porn possession By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT BURLINGTON — A Springfield man will spend 18 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography followed by five more years of probation after he is released. Daniel Gay Jr., 42, who worked at the sewer plant in Bellows Falls before his arrest in June, pleaded guilty Monday at the federal courthouse in Burlington to a single count of possession of child pornography before being sentenced by Judge William K. Sessions. Detective Matthew Raymond of the Vermont Crimes Against Children Task Force began an investigation a year ago into several “peer-to-peer” computer networks located within Vermont that were making available videos of children engaging in sex acts with adults available for download. Some of the graphic videos had titles suggesting they had been filmed in foreign countries such as the Philippines and Venezuela, Raymond wrote. After tracing a suspicious Internet address to Gay’s home in Springfield, detectives showed up there last June with a search warrant and spoke to Gay’s wife, who was the only person home at the time, according to an affidavit filed with the court. After she denied ever having seen child pornography in her house, police called Gay at his job at the municipal wastewater plant in Bellows Falls and asked him to return home where, they said, he confessed to having “less than 50” child pornography videos on his computer. But investigators said he also gave them several small flash drives that, he said, contained “tens of thousands” of child porn images. After Gay’s sentencing Monday, Vermont U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin issued a statement commending the work of the Vermont attorney general’s office and Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, noting that the Gay’s prosecution was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s nationwide “Project Safe Childhood” Initiative. More information on the combined federal, state and local efforts can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.