Districts of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands | Rota resident sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child abuse material

SAIPAN, CNMI– SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Vincent Masga Songsong, age 40, of Rota Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), has been sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). The court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment and registration as a sex offender, wherever Songsong lives, works, or attends school. A restitution hearing has been scheduled for September 27, 2024.

Songsong was convicted of the same crime in 2015 and sentenced to 78 months in prison. He then began a period of supervised release. On June 23, 2023, a U.S. probation officer visited Songsong’s workplace on the island of Rota. Songsong was found in possession of a cell phone that was not registered with the probation service. The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the phone and, through forensic analysis, found more than 1,000 video and image files that showed the sexual exploitation of minors. To date, approximately 123 victims have been identified.

“The possession of CSAM is an unconscionable crime that impacts the most vulnerable in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson. “The harm to child victims can last a lifetime. Our Project Safe Childhood initiative continues to target those who seek to exploit children. Our office will pursue these cases when the evidence supports prosecution.”

“The FBI is committed to ensuring the safety of children in the United States and its territories,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that crimes against children will never be tolerated. Our collective efforts to promote public safety in Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands remain steadfast, and the FBI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable those who exploit our communities’ children.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Albert S. Flores Jr., Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

This was a Project Safe Childhood (PSC) case, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, visit Justice.gov/PSC.