William H. Normandin, Child Pornography Charges, Rhode Island 2024

A second arrest in three days has been made in Newport, Rhode Island on child pornography charges. William H. Normandin, 43, was taken into custody by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and Newport Police.

Normandin is charged with distribution and possession of child pornography. This arrest comes just days after Craig A Mulvey, 39, was arrested on the same charges in an unrelated case.

According to court documents, in January 2020, HSI agents in Providence received information from HSI agents in Ottawa that they had been notified that on August 11, 2019, an individual, with a user name later determined to allegedly belong to Normandin, had uploaded a video of child pornography into a chat room on a social media platform used by some to view and distribute child pornography.

It was later determined by investigators in Rhode Island that the child pornography had allegedly been uploaded from an IP address at Normandin’s residence. Subsequently, the ICAC Task Force received additional information that child pornography was allegedly shared on the same social media platform on multiple occasions in February 2020 by a user determined to allegedly be Normandin while utilizing a different account.

Agents and officers executed a court-authorized search at Normandin’s residence. A preliminary review of Normandin’s smartphone conducted by a Computer Forensic Analyst who is a member of the ICAC Task Force revealed screen shots/video stills of videos that are alleged to be child pornography.

Normandin appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of child pornography and possessing and accessing child pornography.

Normandin was released on unsecured bond and electronic monitoring.

A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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