Barnstable Man Guilty In Child Exploitation, Pornography Case

BARNSTABLE, MA — A Cape Cod man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to child exploitation offenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Atticus J. Bernard, 22, of Barnstable, pleaded guilty on Nov. 18 to two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Feb. 17, 2023.

Bernard was arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021. He has remained in federal custody since.

According to officials, Bernard sexually exploited two minor girls under the age of five-years-old on two separate occasions in November 2019 and October 2020.

Bernard documented the abuse and exploitation, and possessed the child sexual abuse material on his cell phone, officials said. A search of Bernard’s phone in January 2021 revealed numerous photos of Bernard exploiting the minor victims on the reported dates.

The charges of sexual exploitation of children each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and up to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Charges also include a fine of $250,000.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.