Waltham Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offense

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Waltham man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Robert Daigle, 47 pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2024. In February 2022, Daigle was indicted by a federal grand jury.  

On Jan. 11, 2022, approximately 10 electronic devices belonging to the Daigle were seized during a search of his residence. The majority of those devices were located in Daigle’s bedroom. Daigle admitted to downloading hundreds to thousands of CSAM for approximately 20 years. A forensic examination of one device was found to have approximately 1,100 child pornography images and approximately 900 child pornography videos. A second device was found to have approximately 380 child pornography images. 

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Waltham Police Chief Kevin O’Connell made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit 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 identify  and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc