An Augusta man, Nathaniel Gagne, 37, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Bangor, with Judge Stacy D. Neumann presiding. In addition to the prison term, Gagne will serve ten years of supervised release and must pay $23,000 in restitution.
The investigation began in April 2023 when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Augusta Police Department looked into possible livestreaming of child sexual abuse material. The Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit (MSP CCU) was alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after a report through its CyberTipline indicated that an Omegle user had uploaded a video containing suspected child sexual abuse content. Omegle is an anonymous chat site where users can communicate by text or video at random.
According to court records, the file reported contained four images showing the sexual abuse of a young child aged three to four years old. During a search of Gagne's home in Augusta, he admitted to viewing and sharing child sexual abuse material on Omegle. Authorities seized two cell phones and an SD card from his residence, recovering hundreds of images and videos.
HSI led the investigation with support from MSP CCU and the Augusta Police Department.
Child sexual abuse material documents exploitation and causes repeated harm each time it is viewed or shared. In 2023 alone, NCMEC received 36 million reports concerning possession, manufacture, or distribution of such materials. Individuals can file reports with NCMEC online at https://report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating online child exploitation nationwide by coordinating federal, state, and local resources. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
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