Jon A. Hall, Child Sex Abuse Material, Maine 2022

BANGOR, Maine:

A West Gardiner man has pleaded guilty to 14 charges relating to the production, transportation and distribution of child sexual abuse material, as well as failing to register as a sex offender.

Jon A. Hall, 30, was arrested on September 11, 2022, for a sex offender registry violation. At the time, he was in possession of another phone, which also contained images of victims under 12 that Hall had downloaded from online storage, and images Hall had solicited and received directly from a 12-year-old child using the internet.

Hall was required to register as a sex offender following a conviction for possessing sexually explicit material depicting a child under 12. Although Hall was aware of his requirement to notify the registry of changes in residence, he failed to update his registry information after he moved back to Maine from out of state in August 2022.

The investigation into Hall’s activities began on August 29, 2022, when Maine State Police executed a search warrant in West Gardiner on Hall’s person. In the search, they seized an iPhone belonging to Hall, and child sexual abuse material was recovered from that phone. Some of the images and video files depicted Hall sexually abusing a young child while earlier living in another state.

Hall faces the following charges:

Transportation of child pornography charge (2 counts): Minimum of 15 and maximum of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
Receipt of child pornography (1 count): Minimum of 15 and maximum of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by five years to life of supervised release.
Possession of child pornography (2 counts): Minimum of 10 and maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by up to three years of supervised release.
Distribution of child pornography (8 counts): Minimum of 15 and maximum of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by five years to life of supervised release.
Failure to register as a sex offender (1 count): Up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, followed by five years to life of supervised release.

A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or file a report online at https://report.cybertip.org.

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