PORTLAND, Maine — A 38-year-old Harrison man was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for possession of child pornography during a hearing before Judge George Singal in U.S. District Court.
Wayne Pike also was ordered to undergo three years of supervised release upon completing his prison term and to pay $10,320 in restitution to his victims.
Pike pleaded guilty to the charges on May 28.
According to federal prosecutors, investigators with the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit downloaded via a peer-to-peer file sharing program hundreds of images that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit activity.
Investigators determined that the files were being made available by a computer at a home in Harrison, where Pike was living at the time.
On Oct. 10 of last year, investigators executed a search warrant at the home, and found multiple electronic devices that contained child pornographic images.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said at the time that thousands of files and images of infants and toddlers being sexually abused were found on Pike’s computer. None of the victims are believed to be from Maine, he said.
Pike claimed ownership of the devices and admitted that he was responsible for possessing the images the investigators found.
As a condition of his bail, Pike, who was living with his wife and two young children at the time, was required to find other living arrangements.
The U.S. Secret Service assisted in the investigation that led to Pike’s conviction.