BANGOR, Maine — A convicted sex offender from Hampden pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to possessing child pornography.
Walter Mosher, 64, is listed on the Maine Sex Offender Registry for a 1986 case that resulted in convictions in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton on charges of gross sexual misconduct, unlawful sexual contact and sexual exploitation of a minor under the age of 14.
He has been held without bail since his arraignment in March, when he pleaded not guilty to the federal charge.
Mosher’s computer contained images of child pornography, specifically digital images and videos that were produced using minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock on Wednesday allowed Mosher to make a short statement after he entered his guilty plea. Defendants typically do not address the court until they are sentenced.
“I am ashamed about this,” Mosher said. “I wish I could have sought help, but I was too scared to reach out.”
Mosher told Woodcock that from November 2011 until he was arraigned and detained in March 2012, he was seeing a psychiatrist.
In March 2010, Mosher came to the attention of investigators in the Child Exploitation Section of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after its Cyber Crimes Center received information from the National Centre for Combating Pedophilia Online, a division of the Italian State Police Postal and Communication Service, according to the prosecution version of events to which Mosher pleaded guilty.
The Italian Postal and Communication Police Service is the specialized unit in charge of tackling high-tech crimes, including child pornography, perpetrated in Italy using the Internet, according to the website for the Virtual Global Task Force. The task force is made up of law enforcement agencies around the world that have formed a network to combat online child sexual abuse, its website says.
Information gathered by the law enforcement agency in Italy identified a website offering access to child pornographic images and video files, according to the prosecution version of events. Mosher had accessed child pornograpy images from that website.
When a search warrant was executed on May 18, 2011, Mosher admitted that he had downloaded the images to his computer and that he had tried to wipe them from his hard drive to hide them, according to the prosecution version of events.
A forensic examination of Mosher’s computer uncovered at least 18 still images and at least one video containing child pornography, court documents said.
Because of his prior convictions, Mosher faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years. He also could be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution to any victims who might seek it.
A sentencing date has not been set.
I wonder why such a site is allowed to stay online. Why not prosecute people who produce such vile images and who use children in those efforts? And why not prosecute the server owners who allow the garbage to remain? It should be just as illegal to produce a product that is illegal to purchase. In the interim, however, prosecute the perp as far as you can go.
I could be mistaken, but it can be difficult to track these sites, and if they are tracked they are in another country.
monkey justice… just like th fact you win a feather clip or sorts at a fair and then drive in the street and get nailed for drug parahpernailia… child exploitation by the justice system to me… if they knowingly let the sites remain, then they are just as bad .
The United States can’t prosecute people in other countries,unfortunately.
they should make as much effort as possible… like they will to tax us for everything on the net which they’ll sure try and do.
The problem is that about a good 60-70% of child porn comes from Eastern Bloc countries outside the jurisdiction of what used to be InterPol. These countries are not exactly cooperative (and often refuse foreign relations) when it comes to being told that they have a child porn problem. They deal with the issue 5, 10, even 15 years after the complaint is received. All that the U.S. and other countries (Italy, in this case) can do is monitor the traffic, and report the person`s I.P. address to the U.S. government.
sad state of affairs when some people will do anything for money… ty for your input.
The problem is that about a good 60-70% of child porn comes from Eastern Bloc countries outside the jurisdiction of what used to be InterPol. These countries are not exactly cooperative (and often refuse foreign relations) when it comes to being told that they have a child porn problem. They deal with the issue 5, 10, even 15 years after the complaint is received. All that the U.S. and other countries (Italy, in this case) can do is monitor the traffic, and report the person`s I.P. address to the U.S. government.
how do you know this?
A lot of child porn is still downloaded through torrents and file sharing sites. It was one of the true driving forces behind SOPA and PIPA. With file sharing sites down, the threat of child porn online would be greatly reduced. Because of how these websites work, the company is not responsible for screening every file that is uploaded to their servers. The terms and conditions of use legally places the blame on the uploader/downloader, not the host. They are only responsible by law for dealing with the content that is reported as child porn. It takes a warrant, and a long, long, long time to subpoena the file sharing host if they are believed to be intentionally facilitating it. LimeWire still has downloaders from 5 years ago that are just now getting busted.
That’s a big WOW. I didn’t know any of that and I don’t like it.
Put him in front of Judge Cuddy!
Repeat offender,He should get the maximum sentence!
Like the death penalty! I am so sick of repeat offenders ruining lives
He was seeing a psychiatrist for his problem. I worked in mental health. Psychiatrists couldn’t help the pedophiles that we housed. How were they helping him? Just asking.