Salem man pleads guilty to producing child pornography

CONCORD, NH – Brian Powell, 33, of Salem, pleaded guilty on Monday, May 2 in United States District Court for the District of NH to producing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

In 2015, an Electronic Service Provider (ESP) alerted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an individual had uploaded a child pornography file to the ESP’s website.  That file was ultimately traced back to the defendant’s residence in Salem, NH.  The Salem Police Department obtained a search warrant for the residence and seized Powell’s personal computer.  A subsequent analysis of that computer by a detective with the Rochester, NH Police Department – also a member of the NH Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force – revealed a collection of child pornography.  That collection included several videos which Powell  had manufactured himself by initiating contact with minor females through an internet chat service, and persuading them to engage in sexually explicit conduct – which Powell then captured on video using computer recording software.

Powell is scheduled to be sentenced in August 2016.  He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The investigation in this case was led by the Salem, NH Police Department with the assistance of the NH  Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Police Departments of Rochester and Derry, and Homeland Security Investigations Manchester. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led, in each district, by the United States Attorney’s Office, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.