Rhode Island Man Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography

CUMBERLAND, RI — A Rhode Island man was sentenced Wednesday to nearly three years in prison for downloading child pornography, including pictures of prepubescent children.

Patrick Newton, 27, of Cumberland, pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2022, to possession of child pornography.

In January 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with information they obtained from a Canadian-based online messaging and chat service. Prosecutors said an IP address and email, later determined to belong to Newton, was used several times to access and view child pornography.

On March 30, 2022, HSI agents and Rhode Island State Police searched Newton's home and found electronic media storage devices containing videos and images of child pornography, prosecutors said.

Newton was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy to thirty-three months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.