CONCORD – Raymond Ted Estes, 56, of Candia, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 18, 2019, a Federal Bureau of Investigation undercover agent logged into a website known to be involved in the sexual exploitation of minors. Through the investigation, agents identified the defendant as one administrator for the website and determined that the defendant distributed child sexual abuse images to the undercover agent and others. Following additional investigation, on June 5, 2019, agents executed a federal search warrant for Estes’ residence. After agreeing to speak to agents, Estes admitted to uploading and downloading images of child sexual abuse material and that the images were on his phone and his gaming computer. In total, approximately 22,000 images/videos of child sexual exploitation were located on the defendant’s devices, from which 1207 images and 75 videos of known victims of child sexual exploitation were identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“By possessing thousands of child exploitation images and distributing them online, this defendant perpetuated the abuse of the children who appeared in these horrific images,” said U.S. Attorney Farley. “This substantial prison sentence demonstrates that these crimes are unacceptable. We will continue to work closely with the FBI and all our law enforcement partners to protect children from exploitation and pursue federal prosecutions of those who possess or distribute child sexual abuse material.”
“Sadly, online predators like Raymond Estes who exploit children are becoming too common. Today’s sentence should make it crystal clear that there is nowhere in cyberspace they can escape justice,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI is grateful for our collaborative partnerships across the state, and in this case the Candia Police Department, as we continue to combat crimes against New Hampshire’s youth.”
Estes previously pleaded guilty on October 25, 2021. He was also ordered to pay $26,000 in restitution and to forfeit computer media. Once his sentence is completed, Estes will be under supervised release for five years.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Candia Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cam Le. The forfeiture portion of the matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Rabuck.
In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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