Beverly Man Convicted On Child Sexual Exploitation Charge

BEVERLY, MA — A former Lynn District Court assistant chief probation officer from Beverly was convicted on a child sexual exploitation charge in federal court Wednesday after he was accused of sending an obscene image of himself to a 13-year-old girl in Texas.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Brian Orlandella, 49, was convicted in federal court following a six-day trial on one count of child sexual exploitation and one count of transferring an obscene image to a minor.

Orlandella was accused in 2018 of sending the image to the Texas girl when her mother said she found the photo on the 13-year-old's cell phone. According to court documents, the image sent was of the man masturbating with a request that she send back similar photos or videos of herself.

The victim told police she told Orlandella that she was 14 years old, and that he acknowledged that he was much older than her.

Police said they traced the Kik account's IP address to Orlandella. In a search of his home police seized two cell phones — one of which they said contained evidence linking Orlandella to the account used to send the obscene image to the girl.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said he then admitted that he had used Kik and was the person depicted in the obscene videos recovered from the girl's phone.

Conviction on the charge of sexual exploitation of children carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Conviction on the charge of transfer of obscene material to a minor carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $150,000.

Orlandella is being detained pending sentencing on Aug. 5.