CONCORD – Vermont resident Alexander Henry, 20, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on one count of distribution of child sex abuse materials (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. The defendant was arrested and first appeared in federal court in Vermont yesterday. He will appear in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire at a later date.
The charge of CSAM distribution carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of twenty years. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case with valuable assistance from the Newport Police Department and Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Mignanelli and Matthew Vicinanzo are prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/ .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — New Hampshire — U.S. Department of Justice press release.