Gulfport, Miss. – Gianluca Quagliaroli, 21, of North Carolina, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 121 months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert Trill of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans, and Special Agent Shannon Robinson, Commander of Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Detachment 407 at Keesler Air Force Base. Quagliaroli was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to identified victims and $5,100 in special assessment fees. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
“I want to commend the work of our law enforcement and military for discovering and bringing this criminal to justice. Those who deal and trade in child pornography perpetuate harm against children and combatting and ending this elicit market of child pornography is a high priority for the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.
“Those who serve in trusted public positions are not immune to investigation and prosecution, especially those who participate in the exploitation of children,” said HSI New Orleans acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert Trill. “HSI is committed to protecting our nation’s children. This sentencing demonstrates the effectiveness our collaborative efforts with civilian and military law enforcement partners.”
Special Agent Robinson stated, “This was a total win coupled with great teamwork. The Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 407, is proud to have uncovered such criminal activity, shedding light on it through persistent and diligent investigative work. We’re thankful to have a great working relationship with the United States Attorney’s Office, who successfully prosecuted this case.”
On March 11, 2019, Quagliaroli received both photographs and videos of child pornography that he solicited through the social media site Instagram. Quagliaroli then stored some of the child pornography on his Google Drive account. Shortly thereafter, the child pornography was identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC tip was ultimately referred to the AFOSI Detachment at Keesler Air Force Base, where subsequent investigation disclosed that then-Airman Quagliaroli had received the child pornography referenced in the tip.
Quagliaroli was originally indicted for this offense on February 12, 2020. With the cooperation of law enforcement partners at Keesler AFB, Quagliaroli was arrested by civilian federal authorities for receipt of child pornography immediately following his discharge from the Air Force. Quagliaroli pled guilty before Judge Ozerden on June 3, 2020.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew W. Eichner and Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexxa Pritchett.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue