PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sami-Joe Daou, 27, of Warwick, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence today to possessing and distributing child pornography. A joint federal, state and local law enforcement investigation determined that Daou possessed images of child pornography, some of which he shared via Facebook.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Daou pleaded guilty to one count of possession of visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct and one count of distribution of visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexual explicit conduct.
Daou’s guilty plea is announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division; Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police Acting Colonel Ann C. Assumpico; and Cranston Police Chief Colonel Michael J. Winquist.
According to information presented to the court, in March 2015, the defendant stored on his computer sexually explicit images involving a pre-teenage female. At least one of the images was shared via Facebook. Additionally, in July 2015, the defendant stored on his computer three sexually explicit video files depicting sexual contact he had with a 17-year-old female.
Daou is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 24, 2017. Distribution of child pornography is punishable by a statutory penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum term of 5 years imprisonment; possession of child pornography is punishable by a statutory penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment. Daou also faces a maximum life term of supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
The matter was investigated by the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Cranston Police Department, and the FBI.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
