A Winslow man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography.
Darrin Cates, 47, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. to 10 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release on the charge. Cates pleaded guilty on Oct. 23, 2015.
On Jan. 9, 2015, a search warrant was executed at Cates’ home and law enforcement agents seized computer equipment, according to a news release from Acting U.S. Attorney Richard W. Murphy. A forensic examination revealed about 550 images and 276 videos of child pornography depicting 2- to 11-year-old children.
According to the release, Cates admitted he possessed a large amount of child pornography and that he was interested in girls ages of 8 to 12.
In imposing sentence, Woodcock noted that the images were “egregious,” “disturbing” and “abhorrent,” while saying Cates “committed a crime that touches upon a societal nerve.” He called it “profoundly troubling” that Cates had collected such “truly sick images.”
The investigation was conducted by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
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