Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Brandon Hosford, 21, of Easton, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Lance E. Walker to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for possessing, transporting, and receiving child pornography. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution. Hosford pleaded guilty on Oct. 2, 2018.
According to court records, Hosford sent images of child pornography over the internet on two occasions in October 2017, and received child pornography over the internet in November 2017. He also was found in possession of child pornography in April 2017 and in January 2018. Some of the images Hosford possessed and transmitted depicted children under the age of 12.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit, and the Presque Isle and Fort Kent Police Departments.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
