A Dover man was sentenced to two decades in federal prison for ‘catfishing’ minors in a sickening scheme that left his victims traumatized and reeling.
29-year-old Evan Gadarowski pleaded guilty to one count each of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, on October 23, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said Gadarowski ’caused numerous minor survivors unimaginable trauma and pain’ by posing as a teenage girl online and coercing high-school aged girls into sending him explicit images and videos.
‘He manipulated high-school aged girls into thinking he was someone he was not and used this fictitious persona to gain their trust to obtain explicit images and videos from them,’ Young said. ‘In some instances, when these survivors resisted his demands for more images, he threatened to disseminate the compromising images already in his possession to others.’
Gadarowski ‘catfished’ his victims by adopting images and videos of one minor victim as part of a fictitious online persona, using the persona to pursue online relationships with high-school aged girls and eventually inducing them to send him explicit images and videos.
Homeland Security Investigations led the federal investigation, with valuable assistance from the Nashua Police Department and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
‘The defendant’s criminal conduct was calculated and horrifically cruel,’ Young said. ‘He preyed on the survivors’ deepest fears, causing them prolonged anguish. While the sentenced imposed today will never restore what the defendant stole from the survivors, it is a step in their healing process and will also ensure the public is safe from the defendant for the next two decades.’
In addition to his prison sentence, Gadarowski was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release.
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- Utah Man Gets 30 Months for Child Porn · Utah
- Derry Man Gets 35 Years for Child Porn Production · New Hampshire
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Key Facts
- State: New Hampshire
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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