3.5 Years For New London Man Convicted Of Child Pornography

A 49-year-old New London man was sentenced to 37 months in prison after his conviction on a child pornography charge, David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced today.

Michael L. Roarty was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford. In addition to the prison time, Roarty must serve 10 years of supervised release.

According to court documents and testimony, an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in Oklahoma City, Okla., used a peer-to-peer Internet file sharing program to identify individuals distributing child pornography. The investigation determined that the child pornography images had been sent from an Internet Protocol address assigned to an account holder at 130 Hawthorne Drive in New London.

In October of 2008, agents with the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force seized two computers during a search of Roarty's residence. They found that the computers contained "images and videos of child pornography, including depictions of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct." Roarty pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography on July 29.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the United States Secret Service and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The prosecutor in the case was Assistant United States Attorney Deborah R. Slater.        

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance,” which are aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.     

For more information about the Computer Crimes Task Force, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311. To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.