District of Maine | Old Town Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Abuse Material

BANGOR, Maine: An Old Town man was convicted today in the U.S. District Court in Bangor of possessing child pornography of a child under the age of 12.

U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker Convicted Matthew Podlaski40, to 36 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, Podlaski searched for and downloaded images of sexual abuse of young children online between October and December 2022. The images were stored on multiple devices. Investigators seized 14 devices from him, including laptops, flash drives and external storage devices. He pleaded guilty on May 9, 2024.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the matter.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – in legal terms, “child pornography” – documents the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document the exploitation and abuse of victims, and they are revictimized every time the images are shared or viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the toll-free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

Safe Childhood Project: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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. Attorney’s Offices and the Department’s Child Abuse and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

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