Northford Registered Sex Offender Now Faces Child Porn Charge: Feds

NORTH BRANFORD, CT — A 37-year-old Northford man was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday charging him with receipt of child pornography, according to the Justice Department.

Joseph Amadeo pleaded not guilty Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven. He was originally arrested on a federal criminal complaint on June 3, 2021, said Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew B. Millhollinof Homeland Security Investigations.

Amadeo is already a registered sex offender on the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry. In 2013, he was convicted of risk of injury for "collecting and sharing approximately 495 images of child pornography and 194 videos of child pornography of victims that were unknown" to him.

In the current federal case, as alleged in court documents, and according to the U.S. Attorney, in 2020, Homeland Security Investigations began investigating Amadeo. It's alleged he was involved with an "online community that sent and received child pornography images and videos on the dark web."

On March 24, 2021, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Amadeo’s house and seized his computer and other electronic devices, according to Millhollin.

"Analysis of the devices revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, many as young as infants," according to federal agents.

Receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. He is released on a $100,000 bond pending trial.

Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt and charges are only allegations.

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. To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.