A Portland man pleaded guilty on June 1 in U.S. District Court in Portland to receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
According to court records, Jody G. Moczara, 45, obtained a cellular telephone while residing in a halfway house and used it to solicit child sexual abuse material over the internet. In March 2025, Homeland Security Investigations obtained a search warrant for the phone and located hundreds of image and video files depicting child sexual abuse. Investigators also found numerous chat conversations related to child exploitation activity, including one thread where Moczara sent Amazon gift cards as payment for sexually explicit material. Moczara was previously convicted of receiving child pornography in U.S. District Court in Maine in 2016 and sentenced to over 11 years in prison.
Moczara faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to life on supervised release. Sentencing will occur after completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office; a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes across the state, handling civil matters involving the government, collecting owed federal debts, building alliances with law enforcement agencies at all levels, enhancing quality of life through law enforcement efforts, and serving as Maine’s chief federal law enforcement officer, according to the official website.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 that marshals resources from various agencies to locate offenders who exploit children online and rescue victims.