An Ohio man, Andrew Ladich-McGrew, has been sentenced to six years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker in Bangor, Maine. In addition to the prison term, Ladich-McGrew will undergo six years of supervised release and must pay $28,000 in restitution.

The investigation began in June 2020 when Maine State Police and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at an apartment rented by Ladich-McGrew in Presque Isle. The warrant followed a report from the online communication platform Discord, which indicated that his account was involved with sexually explicit images of children under 16. Investigators found images and videos on an online storage drive linked to his computer. A subsequent investigation in November 2020 revealed more files containing child sexual abuse material on another computer.

At the time of his arrest, Ladich-McGrew resided in Ohio. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police.

The public is encouraged to report incidents involving child pornography to authorities such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). In 2023 alone, NCMEC received 36 million reports related to child sexual abuse materials.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.