67-year old Massachusetts man pleads guilty to child pornography offense

“A Chicopee man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to possessing more than 100 images of child pornography.

Herve Plasse, 67, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Sept. 22, 2022. Plasse was indicted in September 2019.

In July 2015, a search of Plasse’s residence revealed over 100 images of child pornography on his computer, including images of prepubescent girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Plasse admitted that he had accessed a website on an encrypted network for the purpose of viewing child pornography.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release 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 Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.” -Massachusetts Department of Justice.