Hyannis, Mass., Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

WASHINGTON – Harris Taubman, of Hyannis, Mass., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to receiving and possessing child pornography, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan for the District of Massachusetts announced.

Taubman, 48, pleaded before U.S. District Judge William G. Young to three counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was indicted on those charges on Feb. 6, 2008.

According to his plea agreement, Taubman was first identified by Barnstable, Mass., police as a result of a 911 call referencing a dispute during which Taubman allegedly pointed a loaded shotgun at a neighbor. According to court documents, when police arrived at Taubman’s residence, they found unlawful ammunition cartridges. A further search pursuant to a search warrant revealed numerous printed images of child pornography. The execution of additional search warrants resulted in the seizure of almost 2,000 computer disks containing child pornography, as well as more than 20 computer hard drives. In total, Taubman possessed tens of thousands of images and videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The court deferred formal acceptance of Taubman’s plea until a pre-sentence report has been conducted by the United States Probation Office. Sentencing is set for March 26. Pursuant to the plea agreement, once the court accepts the plea, Taubman may be sentenced to seven years in prison, forfeit all seized property, and serve a 10-year term of supervised release once his prison term ends.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Gershengorn of the District of Massachusett’s Major Crimes Unit. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Barnstable Police Department.