Guilford Man Had 100s Of Child Sexual Abuse Images, Videos: Feds

GUILFORD, CT — A federal grand jury indicted a Guilford man, charging him with receipt of child pornography, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced Tuesday.

Christopher Michaelson, 37, was arrested in 2019, with the help of Guilford police, on Rhode Island state charges, federal prosecutors noted.

According to RI court records, he was charged with several counts of first-degree child molestation and second-degree child molestation, as well as indecent solicitation of a child and enticement charges.

He was ordered held without bail on the RI charges, state judicial records show.

But when he was arrested by Guilford police, his cellphone was seized. After a "court-authorized search," of the phone, investigators found "hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, primarily boys between the ages of five and 15," according to the US Attorney's office.

The federal indictment in Connecticut was returned on Nov. 3. Michaelson appeared Tuesday via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The charge of receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, the Guilford Police Department and the Burrillville (RI) Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Maria del Pilar Gonzalez.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.