BOSTON – A Turners Falls man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield on child pornography charges.
Brian Cooper, 64, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On Feb. 24, 2022, Cooper pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of child pornography, six counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Between April 2018 and October 2019, Cooper distributed, received and possessed child pornography files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He distributed and received the child pornography files from online associates via Instagram. A search of Cooper’s residence in October 2019 revealed thousands of child pornography files stored on a tablet and multiple thumb drives. At the time of the search, Cooper was arrested on state court charges and has been detained since.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; David E. Sullivan, Northwestern District Attorney; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine G. Curley of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuted 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.