United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

WESTBROOK MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM WIGGLESWORTH, age 38, of Chittendon Hill Road, Westbrook, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction for possessing child pornography. Judge Underhill further ordered that WIGGLEWORTH register as sex offender, and that he undergo mental health treatment. On June 2, 2004, WIGGLESWORTH pleaded guilty to the charge.

According to documents filed with the Court and to statements made in court, WIGGLESWORTH was employed at McLaughlin Associates, an insurance agency in Madison, Connecticut. On May 15, 2003, a customer of the insurance agency was on the premises and observed that WIGGLESWORTH was in the process of downloading a file from the internet. The name of the file was one that suggested it contained child pornography as it referenced both “preteen” and a graphic description of sexual acts. She further observed that the file was being downloaded to a filefolder titled “incest porn.” A subsequent search of the work computer revealed that the defendant was utilizing a file sharing program often used by those who trade and collect child pornography. Forensic analysis of the computer revealed numerous image files and movie clips of what appeared to be prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit activity.

On June 12, 2003, a search warrant was executed at WIGGLESWORTH’s home and computers. Analysis of the items seized revealed hundreds of images of what appear to be minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. Of the images recovered, several contained images of children that have been identified by law enforcement. During an interview with a Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent, WIGGLESWORTH admitted, among other things, that he had been downloading child pornography for approximately three years, that he began to use his work computer because it had a DSL connection, that he would burn a compact disc of the downloaded files so that he could take them home for later viewing, that he downloaded moving pictures as well as still images, that he believed he had a sickness, that he had tried to make a conscious effort to stay away from it but could not, and that in the past he had used a credit card to gain access to child pornography sites but stopped after about one month.

“It is a priority of this Office to protect children through the prosecution of those who exploit them, and our commitment in this regard is unwavering,” U.S. Attorney O’Connor stated.

U.S. Attorney O’Connor noted that McLaughlin Associates has been completely cooperative during the course of this investigation and is not implicated in any wrongdoing.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Madison Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kari A. Dooley.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov