Jeffrey Gray, Child Exploitation, Maine 2022

A disturbing case of child exploitation has come to light in Biddeford, Maine, with the sentencing of Jeffrey Gray, a 63-year-old man who has been found guilty of possessing child sex abuse materials.

According to court records, in September 2022, federal agents executed a search warrant at Gray’s residence following reports that he had shared child sexual abuse material over a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Investigators seized eight electronic devices, and based on material recovered from several of those devices, executed a second search warrant in November 2022, recovering three additional devices.

A forensic examination of the devices revealed hundreds of child sexual abuse images. Gray has a previous conviction in Rockingham Superior Court in 2012 for aggravated felonious sexual assault.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police investigated the case. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Gray to 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Gray pleaded guilty on February 13, 2023.

The severity of the sentence reflects the gravity of the crime. Child sexual abuse materials capture the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and the victims suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed.

In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678.

If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

Related Federal Cases