A Hampden man has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor for possessing child pornography involving a minor. Michael King, aged 67, received a 10-year prison sentence followed by 10 years of supervised release, accompanied by a $41,000 restitution payment. He had entered a guilty plea on October 30, 2024.
Documents presented in court revealed that in November 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cyber tip from Bing about an uploaded sexually explicit image of a child. The IP address was traced to King. In May 2023, investigations by Maine State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led to a search warrant execution at King's residence. During the investigation, King confessed to possessing child sexual abuse material and using Bing to obtain images and videos. He informed agents of the location of his computer, which was found under a couch, leading to the discovery of hundreds of such images, many depicting young children. King had been previously convicted for a similar offense in 2017.
The case was handled by HSI and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
The press release highlighted avenues for reporting incidents of child pornography, emphasizing the severe impact on victims. Reports can be filed with NCMEC, while assistance for sexual abuse victims in Maine is available through a 24-hour helpline.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child exploitation and abuse. The project aims to efficiently coordinate resources to apprehend and prosecute offenders and rescue victims. Further information is available on the Department of Justice website.
