By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
A North Attleborough man will be sentenced next March following a guilty plea on possession of child pornography.
Nicholas Robillard, 39, entered the guilty plea on Tuesday, Nov. 24, to one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for March 18, 2021. Robillard was indicted in October 2019, according to information posted by the U.S. District Attorney’s office.
Robillard distributed and possessed child pornography on various dates between Oct. 16, 2018 and Feb. 14, 2019. Based on his prior record, Robillard faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison on the charge of distribution of child pornography, and a minimum of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison on the charge of possession of child pornography. Both offenses provide for a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; David Magdycz, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and Deputy Chief 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 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/.