January 09, 2008

Methuen Man Arrested For Possession Of Child Pornography

Boston--A Methuen man was arrested this morning on a Criminal Complaint charging him with possession of child pornography.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in

Charge of U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Investigation in Boston, announced today that Matthew Persichetti, age 25, of Methuen, Mass., was charged in a Criminal Complaint with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Specifically, the Complaint charges that Persichetti possessed images of child pornography in January, 2008 on his computer in his home. At the initial appearance today, the government informed the Court that Persichetti had been conversing on-line with other people using Google Hello, including with an individual in Alaska with whom Persichetti traded child pornography. Federal agents executed a search warrant on Persichetti's residence on January 3, 2008 and seized his laptop computer, on which they found additional images of child pornography. During the search warrant, Persichetti told agents that he had volunteered at an orphanage in Mexico. The government stated that agents located a text document on Persichetti's computer detailing his rape of two children, aged 7 years old and 8 years old, at an orphanage in Mexico at which he was volunteering. ICE agents are continuing to investigate.

If convicted, Persichetti faces a maximum sentence of 10 years. Persichetti was released today on electronic monitoring with the condition that he be confined to his home for 24 hours a day.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Gershengorn in Sullivan's Major Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the Complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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