MARSTONS MILLS – From U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston: A Marstons Mills man was arrested Thursday and charged in federal court in Boston with receipt and possession of child pornography.
Steven Carme, 30, was charged with one count of receipt and one count of possession of child pornography. He appeared in federal court in Boston and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing.
According to court documents, law enforcement learned that an individual whose IP address was traced to Carme’s Marstons Mills residence had shared child pornography over the internet using peer-to-peer sharing software. A search at the residence resulted in the seizure of a laptop computer, an external hard drive and an iPhone X. The external hard drive contained hundreds of images and videos of children, including some that depict the rape of children as young as five-years-old.
The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison. Each charge also provides for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Barnstable Police Chief Matthew Sonnabend made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna Nuzum of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The case was 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 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/.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
