CONCORD – Stuart Adams, 61, of Hooksett, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in August, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) received information pertaining to a mobile application that allows users to exchange materials over the internet. The information provided that a particular user, later identified as Adams, expressed interest in and was attempting contact with underage females. Adams established contact with an undercover FBI agent (UC) with an online persona portraying a 13-year-old girl. The two maintained contact throughout the month of October 2020.
On October 19, 2020, Adams sent the UC sexually explicit pictures and a video of himself and engaged the UC in a sexually explicit conversation. A federal search warrant was executed at Adams’ home and many electronic devices were seized. Forensic review revealed Adams was engaged in sexually-oriented chats with numerous minor females. Adams denied ever meeting in person anyone he has chatted with online.
Adams previously pleaded guilty on November 23, 2021.
“The defendant’s conduct in this case was appalling,” said U.S. Attorney Farley. “By seeking out young females for sexual conversations and sending explicit photographs to an individual that he believed to be a 13-year girl, the defendant engaged in unacceptable and illegal behavior. Although this case is a painful reminder to parents of the dangers that lurk on the internet, it also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to working with the FBI and our other law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute the predators who seek to use the internet to exploit children.”
“Stuart Adams admitted to sending sexually explicit images of himself to underage girls over the course of several years and while today’s sentence doesn’t erase the harm he inflicted upon his victims, it does hold him accountable for engaging in criminal conduct,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “This case is another example of how easy it is for young people to become victims, and how the FBI’s Child Exploitation-Human Trafficking Task Force will do everything it can to protect them from predators.”
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland.
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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