BANGOR, Maine: A Kingfield man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
According to court records, between May 2009 and April 2010, Richard Hinkley, 57, saved sexually explicit images from video chats with a person he knew to be a minor. In May 2020, a search warrant was executed at Hinkley’s home. The search revealed these and other images of child pornography on Hinkley’s electronic devices, some depicting children under 12 years of age.
Hinkley faces between 15 and 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a child and up to 20 years for possession of child pornography. He also faces a $250,000 fine on each count and from five years to a lifetime of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the FBI investigated the case.
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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography, file a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action. If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, please call 911 or contact your local police or sheriff’s department.
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