BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – A South Dartmouth man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to child pornography offenses.
Jack L. Bean, Jr., 29, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Bean was charged in a criminal complaint and arrested in April 2016. U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for May 22, 2017.
In September 2015, a law enforcement investigation identified an internet-based bulletin board dedicated to the advertisement, distribution and production of child pornography with over 1,500 users who actively post new content and engage in online discussions involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Bean was identified as a user on the bulletin board. During a search executed by law enforcement, Bean admitted that he downloaded and saved child pornography from the internet, and that he had a sexual preference for girls approximately 14 years old. Agents identified 40 images and 29 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on Bean’s laptop and forensic analysis later revealed that the majority of the children depicted in the sexually explicit images and videos were between the ages of one and eight years old.
The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Dartmouth Police Chief Robert W. Szala, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
