PORTLAND, Maine — A 62-year-old Gorham man who collected “vast amounts of child pornography for many years” and distributed it to others was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.
John Whittenburg will serve six years of supervised release following that prison term, according to a release from Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff.
During an April 2012 interview at his Buxton home, Whittenburg admitted to officers at his home that he did download and view images of child pornography, according to court documents
Investigators found numerous child pornography files stored on his electronic equipment, including a video file depicting a minor female engaged in sexual activity that he had downloaded in October 2011 using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, according to the release.
“Despite this, in 2013 he was again found in possession of child pornography,” Wolff wrote.
On June 18, 2014, Whittenburg was indicted on one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $25,000 bond pending trial, with conditions including electronic monitoring, according to court documents.
According to a sentencing memo filed Feb. 27 by Whittenburg’s attorney, Thomas J. Greco, a psychosexual evaluation of Whittenburg determined that he posed a low risk to reoffend sexually. But prosecutors pointed to a number of factors, including a statement that he could not control his attraction to sexual images of children, to argue against leniency.
“Whittenburg also expressed no guilt for amassing such a large collection of child pornography, and made the frankly astounding statement that “the girls did not look that (sic) they were in distress,” Wolff wrote.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Whittenburg pleaded guilty in November to the count of receipt of child pornography and accepted responsibility for the offense, according to court documents. He waived his right to appeal any sentence that did not exceed 84 months.
The crime carries a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff asked for a sentence of 7 to 8 years followed by 10 years supervised release.
Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Whittenburg on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland.