Trumbull Resident Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Michael Drzal, 22, of Trumbull, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receiving and distributing child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2011, a Connecticut State Police Trooper assigned to the Computer Crimes Unit and an FBI special agent assigned to the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force in New Haven each logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded videos of child pornography from shared directories maintained by Drzal. On June 22, 2011, law enforcement agents conducted a court-authorized search of Drzal’s Trumbull residence and seized a computer and hard drives. Forensic analysis of Drzal’s computer, hard drives, and e-mail account revealed approximately 1,738 image files and 685 videos of child pornography.

On December 20, 2011, Drzal pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Following his release from prison, Drzal will be required to register as a sex offender. As special conditions of his 10 year-term of supervised release, the United States Probation Office is authorized to monitor Drzal’s computer use and conduct random searches of his residence, automobile, and workplace. Also, Drzal must not have any unsupervised contact with children who are under the age of 18 without the express permission of the U.S. Probation Office and his mental health treatment provider.

This case was investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj Patel.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance,” which are 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.