A New Hampshire man will spend five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire.
Federal authorities search of the residence of Zachary Cote, 24, of Franklin, N.H., and seized electronic equipment and a review of the equipment uncovered more than 2,500 images and videos that included child sexual exploitation materials, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Agreeing to an interview with authorities, Cote admitted he possessed and traded the materials online. Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta of the FBI Boston Division said in the release that the actions demonstrated the need to protect children from predators.
“By his own admission, Mr. Cote had four phones filled with thousands of explicit images and hundreds of videos depicting kids under the age of 12 being sexually abused,” Bonavolonta said in the release. “Sadly, his despicable actions revictimized the minors featured in these images and videos all over again. Investigating violent crimes against children is a top priority of ours at the FBI, and this case exemplifies how we will work with our law enforcement partners to ensure people like him are brought to justice.”
Cote pleaded guilty in September and after his prison sentence is completed he will be under supervised release for eight years, according to the release. He also was ordered to pay $26,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney John Farley noted in the press release that his office will continue to work with the FBI and law enforcement to crack down on predators by investigating and prosecuting these types of crimes.
The FBI worked with the Franklin Police Department to investigate the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case, according to the release.
