Robert L. MacGregor, Child Pornography Possession, RI 2024

PROVIDENCE, RI — Two registered sex offenders are back behind bars, facing fresh federal charges tied to the exploitation of children. Robert L. MacGregor, 55, and Michael Llorca, 47, both of Providence, were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of child pornography possession and distribution, marking a grim return to the justice system for men already branded by past crimes.

MacGregor faces one count of possession of child pornography, stemming from a routine probation check on January 24, 2018, when a U.S. Probation Officer spotted illicit material on his cell phone. A forensic sweep of the device allegedly uncovered approximately 100 images of child pornography. MacGregor, already serving a lifetime federal supervised release after a 2011 conviction for possession and distribution of child pornography, was arrested by HSI agents and ICAC task force members on February 7, 2018 — less than five months after completing an 84-month prison term.

Llorca, 47, is charged with two counts of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography. The investigation began in October 2017, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted the Rhode Island State Police ICAC Task Force that someone — later identified as Llorca — had sent sexually explicit messages and illicit images to a minor female via an online app. Further probing revealed the same IP address linked to Llorca was actively sharing child porn files over a peer-to-peer network.

On January 18, 2018, law enforcement raided Llorca’s Providence home, seizing seven laptops, six smartphones, two Apple iPods, and two SD cards. The devices are undergoing forensic analysis. Llorca has been in custody since the raid. He is a registered sex offender, previously convicted of rape of a child in Massachusetts in August 1997.

The cases are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams. Authorities involved in the probe include United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch, Colonel Ann C. Assumpico of the Rhode Island State Police, and Michael S. Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for New England.

An indictment is not a conviction. Both MacGregor and Llorca are entitled to a fair trial, where the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But for two men already tainted by prior convictions, the weight of the allegations lands like a death knell in a community tired of predators hiding in plain sight.