Houlton Man Convicted of Possessing Child Pornography

A 45-year-old Houlton man was convicted of possessing child pornography Friday following a jury trial that lasted four days.

Larry O’Neal was arrested January 2018 on the charges after a search warrant was served at his home. Court records and trial evidence showed law enforcement investigated him after his computer was observed on a peer-to-peer file sharing network as having files associated with child pornography.

He will be sentenced after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence report. O’Neal faces up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine. His supervised release after prison is between five years and a lifetime, said officials.

United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced the conviction.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.  This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.