A Lisbon Falls resident, Joseph Gibson, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen for possessing child sexual abuse material. The sentence includes eight years of supervised release and a restitution payment of $9,000.

Court documents revealed that Gibson's IP address was traced to downloads of child sexual abuse material via BitTorrent during September and October 2023. Following this discovery, the Maine State Police conducted a search at his residence in December 2023. During an interview with investigators, Gibson admitted to accessing such materials online. An analysis by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of devices seized from his home uncovered five video files depicting the abuse of children under 12.

Gibson has previous convictions related to similar offenses from January 2010 and December 2011.

The case was investigated by the Maine State Police and HSI as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child exploitation and abuse nationwide.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported receiving 36 million reports related to child sexual abuse materials in 2023. Those needing assistance or wishing to report incidents can contact NCMEC or utilize local resources available in Maine.