A 67-year-old Gardiner man was sentenced Thursday to spend 25 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography that originated in the Philippines.
Richard A. Bailey had pleaded guilty to the offenses June 18 in U.S. District Court in Bangor. U.S. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy imposed the sentence as 300 months, and is to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office says the investigation began after agents were tipped off that Bailey was uploading child pornography to various websites.
“The investigation revealed that the defendant produced child pornography by encouraging adults in the Philippines during online chats to engage in sexual activity with children that was videotaped, photographed, and disseminated in real time over the Internet,” the release says. “A forensic examination of the defendant’s electronic devices revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography including images obtained from the Philippine sex shows.”
An indictment handed up April 12, 2018, charges Bailey with sexual exploitation of a minor and says Bailey induced a child around Feb. 8, 2017, “to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct and did aid and abet another person in doing the same.” It says the child was less than 12 years old and that Bailey knew the depiction would be transported in interstate and foreign commerce.
The production charge carries a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison.
In one document, the government sought a higher sentence range because one particular act with a minor “portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.”
Bailey’s defense attorney, Jon Haddow, objected.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCormack.
Bailey’s computer equipment and thumb drives, seized from him May 4, 2017, in Gardiner, were ordered forfeited.
The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Child Safe, which aims “to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” according to the release.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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