Stamford Man Charged With Child Exploitation Offenses: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford man was arrested Thursday on a federal criminal complaint that charges him with child exploitation offenses, according to a joint announcement from U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England Michael J. Krol, and Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw.

Rick Marro, 42, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport Thursday and was ordered detained.

The complaint charges Marro with production of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum term of 30 years; receipt and distribution of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, Avery noted in a news release.

According to court documents, law enforcement began investigating Marro in August 2023 after a 16-year-old boy reported that he had been sexually exploited by Marro, Avery said.

The boy reported that he met Marro on a dating application, and they began communicating on Snapchat in April 2023, Avery said, adding that the boy indicated they met in person at Marro’s house on multiple occasions, and two of the encounters were sexual in nature.

"The victim reported that Marro gave him 'poppers,' that Marro was 'into' asphyxiation, and, on one occasion, Marro strangled him and he passed out 'for a minute or two,'" Avery said. "A law enforcement review of the victim’s Snapchat account showed that Marro sent him videos that Marro had recorded of them engaged in sexual activity. He also sent the victim a video depicting Marro choking him."

The Food & Drug Administration notes "poppers" are products that contain certain chemicals that, when breathed in, cause a high effect.

Law enforcement seized Marro's phone, and located the same videos that he recorded and sent the boy showing them engaged in sexual activity, Avery said.

"Investigators also located text messages that Marro had sent to another individual in which Marro stated that he 'choked [the victim] all the way to unconscious today by accident,'" Avery added.

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Stamford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

Avery said the 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, click here.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit The CyberTipline website.