Repeat Offender Sentenced to 10 Years for Possessing More than 12,000 Images and 1,000 Videos of Children being Sexually Abused

PORTLAND, Maine: A Lewiston man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for possessing child sexual abuse material.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Mark A. Burns, 61, to 10 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $58,000 in restitution. Burns pleaded guilty on August 28, 2023.

According to court records, in April 2023, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit learned that a computer at an IP address belonging to Burns had shared a sexually explicit image of a child under the age of six. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant at Burns’ residence, where he admitted that he had downloaded child sexual abuse material. A search of his tablet revealed that it contained 1,103 video files and more than 12,000 images of children ranging in age from infants to young teens. Burns has a 2016 state conviction for possessing sexually explicit material involving a child under the age of 12, which subjected him to a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

At the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Jon D. Levy noted that Burns’ collection of child pornography was “immense.” When imposing sentence, Judge Levy called the volume of Burns’ collection a “significant aggravating factor,” as well as the fact that Burns had previously been convicted of the same conduct.

HSI and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – "child pornography" – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer re-victimization every time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/ or 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

Project Safe Childhood: 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.

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