Fall River Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge

BOSTON—A Fall River man was convicted yesterday in federal court on child pornography charges.

RICHARD A. DOHERTY, JR, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to one count of possession of child pornography. Had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that DOHERTY used a peer-to-peer software trade child pornography online. Over 10,000 images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, were found on DOHERTY’s computer.

Judge Casper scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2012. DOHERTY faces up to 10 years in prison, to be followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Boston Division made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Yoon, Chief of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit, and Trial Attorney Thomas Franzinger of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation & Obscenity Section.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Projectsafechildhood.gov/.