Middletown Man Gets 41 Months in Prison For Child Porn Possession

A 27-year-old Middletown man was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday to three years and four months in prison for possessing 15 pictures and 22 videos depicting child pornography.

William Santiago Jr. pleaded guilty on Nov. 9 to one count of child porn possession, stemming from an investigation that began on Oct. 15, 2009, when federal agents seized a laptop computer and other computer-related evidence from his home, according to a press release.

Federal authorities said Santiago used a peer-to-peer Internet file sharing program to download the images. According to the news release, a forensic analysis of his computer equipment revealed the 37 images and video files, some of which included images of children under the age of 12 engaging in sexual conduct.

Santiago was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Hartford before Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello.

The prosecution of the case is part of the U.S. Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance” group.

The case was investiaged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hartford Police Department and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other local jurisidictions.