Burnham Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Using the Internet to Access Child Pornography

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that David L. Cook, 61, of Burnham, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr., to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for using the internet to access child pornography intending to view it.  Cook pleaded guilty on October 10, 2017.  Because he had a prior qualifying conviction, he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

Court records reveal that in August 2016, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit (MCCU) received a report from Microsoft that a user had uploaded an image of child pornography.  Federal and state officers obtained a physical address for that user, executed a warrant at that address, and seized the defendant’s computer.  The MCCU’s forensic examination of the computer revealed over 30 images of child pornography and that the defendant searched the internet for child pornography on dozens of occasions between March and August, 2016.

The case was investigated by the MCCU and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.  This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.