BOSTON – A federal defendant, who fled in 2015 while on pre-trial release, was captured yesterday in Denver, Colo.
In May 2015, Scot Letourneau, 44, formerly of Quincy and Maine, was arrested and charged in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts with receipt and possession of child pornography. Although the government sought Letourneau’s pretrial detention on the grounds of his prior convictions, the Court released him on Aug. 5, 2015, on an electronic bracelet and home confinement in Maine. On Nov. 3, 2015, Letourneau fled and a warrant for his arrest was immediately issued. Letourneau was apprehended in Denver yesterday and was detained following an appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver this afternoon. He will appear in federal court in Massachusetts at a later date.
As alleged in the original charging documents, in early 2015, law enforcement officers learned that an individual was trading images of child pornography on Kik Messenger, an instant messaging app, with an individual in Connecticut. After further investigation, it was determined that an Internet IP address used in transmitting the images was associated with Letourneau. On May 21, 2015, a search warrant was executed at Letourneau’s home, and a preliminary review of his cellphone revealed that he exchanged images of child pornography with others.Investigators also learned that Letourneau had previously been convicted of distribution of child pornography in 2002 in Cheshire County Superior Court.
On June 18, 2015, a two-count federal indictment was returned against Letourneau charging him with distribution and possession of child pornography.
In light of Letourneau’s prior conviction, the charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and no greater than 40 years in prison, and the charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and no greater than 20 years in prison. Both statutes provide for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Kenneth Deal, Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Colorado, made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by the Adams County (Colo.) Sheriff’s Department; Connecticut State Police; Quincy Police Department; and U.S. Coast Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’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, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.