Kevin McNicol, Child Pornography, Massachusetts 2011

Child Predator Sentenced to 15 Years for Creating, Distributing Child Pornography

Boston, Massachusetts - In a disturbing case of child exploitation, Kevin McNicol, a 24-year-old Hyannis resident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for soliciting and recording underage girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On March 2011, a website filed a cyber tip with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after an online user uploaded an image of suspected child pornography. The image depicted a minor Asian girl, approximately 10-years-old, engaged in simulated oral sex. Law enforcement traced the posting back to McNicol's residence in Hyannis.

On May 2011, a search warrant was executed at McNicol's address, where law enforcement located child pornography on a computer. Investigators observed several video files that depicted minor females exposing their genitals and/or engaging in sexual acts.

Forensic analysis revealed that McNicol recorded underage and adult females engaging in such acts via the Internet. He engaged the girls in web chats, soliciting them to expose their breasts, anus, and/or vagina and ultimately engage in sexually explicit conduct for his viewing and recording. Law enforcement recovered 92 such video files, the majority of which depicted as many as 78 underage females.

McNicol was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 15 years in prison, followed by seven years of supervised release, including conditions prohibiting unsupervised contact with minors and unapproved Internet access, for charges of the sexual exploitation of a child for the transmission of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today. The matter was investigated by the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), including Massachusetts State Police, Barnstable Police Department, Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, Yarmouth Police Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In coordination with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael I. Yoon and Stacy Dawson Belf.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/hyannis-man-sentenced-15-years-production-child-pornography