BOSTON – A former Assistant Chief Probation Officer for Lynn District Court was sentenced in federal court today in connection with child exploitation offenses.
Brian Orlandella, 49, of Beverly, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 17 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Orlandella was also ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. On April 20, 2022, Orlandella was convicted following a six-day jury trial of one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of transfer of obscene material to a minor.
“Mr. Orlandella took advantage of a vulnerable, 13-year-old girl – he sent sexually explicit material to her and coerced her into producing obscene content through an anonymous social media profile. In his day-to-day life, Mr. Orlandella held himself out to be a trusted member of the law enforcement community, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “The sexual exploitation of children is an offense that will never be tolerated in my office. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to prosecute predators and bring treatment, services and justice to our victims.”
“Orlandella knowingly preyed upon a child, sending her explicit videos and directing her to reciprocate. The internet and social media are an integral part of everyday life for our children, and knowing that predators like Orlandella are lurking online is every parent’s worst nightmare. Today’s sentence underlines that the exploitation of children will not be tolerated and that the consequences are serious,” said Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “HSI is committed to using our unique investigative abilities to search the darkest parts of the internet to find predators like Orlandella and bring them to justice.”
In May 2018, a mother in Texas contacted local police about messages she found on her 13-year-old daughter’s cell phone between her daughter and an adult man, later identified as Orlandella. In the messages, sent via the Kik mobile application, Orlandella sent the victim images of himself masturbating and directed her to send him sexually explicit pictures and videos of herself. The 13-year-old victim told him she was 14 years old, and he acknowledged that he was much older than she was.
The Kik account’s IP address was traced to Orlandella’s residence in Massachusetts. During a search of his residence, two of Orlandella’s phones were seized, one of which contained evidence tying Orlandella to the Kik account that was used to procure sexually explicit imagery from the underage victim. During an on-site interview at his home, Orlandella admitted that he had used Kik and was the person depicted in the obscene videos recovered from the child’s phone.
U.S. Attorney Rollins and HSI SAC Millhollin made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Port Neches (Texas) Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne Paruti, Chief of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit, and Adam W. Deitch, of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, 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 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and 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 via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.