Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston Field Office, announced that CHRISTOPHER MICHAELSON, 38, of Guilford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to production of child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 9, 2019, the Guilford Police Department assisted Burrillville (R.I.) Police with the arrest of Michaelson at his residence in Guilford on Rhode Island state charges for child molestation, solicitation and enticement. During the arrest, officers seized Michaelson’s cellphone. A court-authorized search of the seized phone revealed hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, primarily boys between the ages of five and 15, and communications between Michaelson and minor victims whom he directed to send sexually explicit photographs of themselves to him.
The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years. Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for June 2.
The Rhode Island state charges against Michaelson are pending.
Michaelson has been detained since his arrest.
This matter has been investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, the Guilford Police Department and the Burrillville Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Nancy V. Gifford.
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.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys