Seabrook Resident Sent To Federal Prison For 50 Years For Producing Child Pornography

          CONCORD - United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today that Richard Silvestri, 49, of Seabrook, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.

          According to documents filed in the case and statements made at the sentencing hearing, sometime before December 13, 2017, Silvestri produced visual depictions of an eight-year-old minor female engaging in sexually explicit activity.  Silvestri used a Samsung cellular phone to produce the images and he shared those images with others.  An undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation based in Alaska discovered Silvestri’s activities and sent an investigative lead to the Bedford, New Hampshire FBI office.  FBI agents obtained a criminal complaint charging Silvestri with producing child pornography and arrested him on December 13, 2017.

          Silvestri pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography on June 15, 2018.

          “Protecting children from harm is one of the highest duties of law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Those who abuse children by producing child pornography cause grave harm to their victims and to our community.  We will always be aggressive in our efforts to identify and prosecute those who rob children of their innocence by producing child pornography.”

          "Mr. Silvestri repeatedly abused an innocent child, and with this sentence, he's finally being held accountable for his detestable actions.  The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to do everything we can to protect our children from individuals who prey on our most vulnerable,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division.

          The FBI and the Seabrook Police Department participated in the investigation of this case.  Staff from the Rockingham County Child Advocacy Center also assisted in the case.  Assistant United States Attorneys Donald A. Feith and Helen White Fitzgibbon prosecuted the case.

          In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.