Springfield man sentenced for child porn

A Springfield man will spend 17 months in jail and the next decade on probation as a registered sex offender for making more than 100 child porn videos available via the internet.

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Springfield man sentenced for child porn By ERIC FRANCIS HERALD CORRESPONDENT | August 29,2016 Email Article Print Article WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield man will spend 17 months in jail and the next decade on probation as a registered sex offender for making more than 100 child porn videos available via the internet. Christian Cowell, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this month to two felony counts of promoting child pornography and to a misdemeanor count of voyeurism. He received a sentence of five to 15 years in jail with all but 17 months suspended. Cowell, whose previous criminal record consisted mainly of offenses related to drunk driving, will begin serving his sentence Sept. 1. Detectives Robert Snetsinger and Matt Raymond of the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Cowell at an apartment on Olive Street early last year after an investigation that began in December 2014. Snetsinger wrote in his affidavit that while he was searching the internet he was able to download three child pornography videos from Cowell’s computer. Some of the videos appeared to have been produced in Russia, he said. Snetsinger said 115 files “containing known child pornography” were made available from Cowell’s computer via a file-sharing network. Cowell admitted to deliberately using “commonly used (search) terms” involving child pornography, the detective said. “I asked Cowell if he was using (the download software) ... and he said that was possible and that he had downloaded child pornography files a few months and even years before that,” Snetsinger wrote. Cowell allegedly admitted to police that he downloaded, watched and deleted the videos “because it was a ‘spur of the moment’ thing and he felt bad about watching them after,” Snetsinger wrote. Assistant Attorney General Ultan Doyle said the investigation was aided by the Vermont State Police and officers in Burlington, South Burlington and Springfield. Attorney General: Vermont man got, distributed child porn on Internet Posted: Mar 13, 2015 6:44 PM EDT Updated: Mar 16, 2015 5:00 PM EDT WINDSOR, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell says a Springfield man is facing three felony counts of promoting child pornography. Christian Cowell of Springfield was arraigned Friday in superior court in Windsor. Bail was set at $75,000. If he posts it, conditions of his release restrict his access to children and the Internet. Sorrell says Cowell obtained and distributed child pornography using file sharing programs that permit people to share pictures and movies. The case was investigated by local and state police and Vermont's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It was not immediately known if Cowell has a lawyer.