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Defendant induced a minor in the Philippines to engage in sexually explicit conduct using Facebook messenger
A Greenfield man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to receipt of child pornography.
Charles Fox, 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for March 22, 2022. Fox was indicted in July 2019 and has remained in federal custody since his arrest in June 2019.
Fox induced a minor in the Philippines to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of that conduct. Specifically, Fox used Facebook messenger to communicate with the minor and to receive the pornographic images. In exchange for the images, Fox sent Western Union payments to the Philippines. In 2010, Fox was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age.
Due to the defendant’s prior sex offense conviction, the charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to 40 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 other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
