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A Brazilian national, residing in Milford, was arrested and charged in federal court in Worcester for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to a statement from the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Joao Carlos Tavares Da Silva, 21, was charged with possession of child pornography. The defendant was detained after making an initial appearance in federal court in Worcester.
According to the charging documents, Tavares Da Silva is a Brazilian citizen with an outstanding warrant in Brazil for statutory rape; production, reproduction, direction, recording or filming of scenes of explicit sexual acts or pornography involving children or adolescents; and selling or offering for sale any photograph, video, or other recording that contains scenes of explicit sexual acts or pornography involving a child or adolescent. During a search of Tavares Da Silva’s home in Milford, multiple electronic devices were seized. According to the criminal complaint affidavit, images containing CSAM were located on one of those devices. The images appeared to be of an alleged victim in Brazil.
The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, supervised release for life and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Milford Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Noto of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
