Maine man gets 25 years for online sexual abuse of Filipino boys

online sexual abuse

A 67-year-old Maine man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for directing the online sexual abuse of Filipino boys.

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Richard Bailey pleaded guilty to the offences at a District Court in Bangor in June. Yesterday, US District Court Judge Jon D Levy imposed a sentence of 300 months. Bailey, from Gardiner, has also been fined $250,000.

According to court documents, the investigation began after agents were tipped off that Bailey was uploading footage of children being sexually abused to a number of websites.

“The investigation revealed that the defendant produced child pornography by encouraging adults in the Philippines during online chats to engage in sexual activity with children that was videotaped, photographed, and disseminated in real time over the Internet,” the documents say. 

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“A forensic examination of the defendant’s electronic devices revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography including images obtained from the Philippine sex shows.”

Bailey was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor in April of this year. The indictment says that in February 2017 he induced a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct and did aid and abet another person in doing the same.” 

It says the child was less than 12 years old and that Bailey knew the depiction of online sexual abuse would be transported in interstate and foreign commerce.

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The production charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison. The government had sought a higher sentence range because one particular act with a minor “portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence”. However, Bailey’s defence attorney, Jon Haddow, objected.

The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Child Safe, which aims “to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.”

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