BANGOR, Maine — A Bangor man who was previously convicted in federal court of possessing child pornography was sentenced on Monday to 10 years behind bars for a second conviction on the same charge.
Joshua Dunston, 38, a registered sex offender, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge John Woodcock Jr. to 10 years plus one month in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possessing child pornography, which he downloaded between March 17, 2015, and May 5, 2015, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty.
At the time of these acts, Dunston was on supervised release for his 2006 child pornography conviction, so Woodcock added a consecutive two years for violating his conditions of supervised release. Woodcock also sentenced Dunston to 10 years in 2006, with the year he awaited trial counted toward his time.
He was released into a halfway house on Oct. 22, 2014, and released into the community in February 2015, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Ruge said Monday. Dunston was warned after viewing erotic Japanese anime while at the halfway house in December 2014 and was arrested for the new charge “not long after” he was released, Ruge said.
Congress, in 2003, established a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for sex offenders convicted of possessing child pornography.
Dunston, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 29 to the most recent charge, also was ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution.
According to federal prosecutors, Dunston uploaded multiple images of child pornography to online accounts he controlled and also kept numerous additional images depicting the sexual exploitation of young children on his cellphone.
A resident of Houlton in 2006, Dunston is believed to have been the first person in Maine to face federal charges for using his cellphone to download child pornography, according to published reports.
He faced a minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison because of his convictions in state court in 2001 for possession of sexually explicit materials and of sexual abuse of a minor involving a 15-year-old girl who bore his child.
His convictions in state court include violating conditions of release, negotiating a worthless instrument, possession of sexually explicit materials and sexual abuse of a minor.
He was required to register as a sex offender because of the sexual abuse conviction and was registered at the time of his arrest on federal charges.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office and the Bangor Police Department.
To reach a sexual assault advocate, call the Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Line at 800-871-7741, TTY 888-458-5599. This free and confidential 24-hour service is accessible from anywhere in Maine. Calls are automatically routed to the closest sexual violence service provider.