David B. Fein, United States Attorney
for the District of Connecticut, announced that William Paul Patrick, 67, of
Glastonbury, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before
United States Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport to one count
of using an interstate facility to persuade a minor to engage in sexual
activity.
According to court documents and
statements made in court, in late 2008, the FBI and the Connecticut Computer
Crimes Task Force began investigating Patrick’s suspected possession and
distribution of child pornography. On May 8, 2009, law enforcement agents conducted
a court-authorized search of Patrick’s Glastonbury residence and seized several
computers, detachable hard drives, and computer-related components. Subsequent
analysis of the seized computers and hard drives revealed numerous images and
videos depicting child pornography.
Forensic review of the seized items also
revealed videos, e-mails, and text files that indicated that Patrick had
communicated with individuals in the Philippines for the purposes of arranging
Internet sex shows involving minors. In one e-mail, Patrick offered money for a
sex show involving multiple individuals and a 7-year-old girl. Patrick provided
explicit instructions to the adult and the minors about the nature and duration
of the sex acts he wanted to view and offered them cash rewards if they could perform
certain acts on the child.
Patrick also engaged in another Internet
chat session with an adult and a young child, who indicated that she was 9
years old. During the chat session, Patrick asked that the girl engage in
sexual acts and be photographed while nude. Patrick provided $100 to an
individual in the Philippines to facilitate his request, and he subsequently
received pornographic photographs of the child.
In addition, Patrick recorded a number
of sexual encounters between other minors that occurred over a live streaming
web cam.
Patrick was arrested on January 22,
2010. He has been released on bond under electronic monitoring by the United
States Probation Office since shortly after his arrest.
Patrick is scheduled to be sentenced by
Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton on September 19, 2012, at
which time Patrick faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years
and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
This matter has investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force,
which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including
the Hamden Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorneys Deborah Slater and Ray Miller.
The Connecticut Computer Crimes Task
Force investigates crimes occurring over the Internet, including computer
intrusion, Internet fraud, copyright violations, Internet threats and
harassment, and online crimes against children. The task force also provides
computer forensic review services for participating agencies. The task force is
housed in the main FBI Office in New Haven. For more information about the task
force, please contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.
U.S. Attorney Fein noted that this
prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood
Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and
exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
To report cases of child exploitation,
please visit www.cybertipline.com.
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