Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PORTLAND, Maine: A South Portland man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to possessing child sexual abuse material.
According to court records, in April 2023, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at the South Portland residence of Sheldon Rembert, 32, locating Rembert in the bedroom. An agent recovered a smartphone from the bedroom, and during an interview, Rembert admitted that child sexual abuse material would be found on the phone and that he had downloaded the images and videos. Forensic examination of the device found images and videos of children as young as eight years old being sexually abused. In 2020, Rembert was convicted in Cumberland County Superior Court of possessing explicit material of a minor.
Rembert faces 10-20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by five years to life of supervised release. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI investigated the case.
To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child sexual abuse material: Child sexual abuse material – referred to in legal terms as “child pornography” – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’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 via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
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