Pawtucket Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

PROVIDENCE - A Pawtucket man found to be in possession of more than 17,000 images and dozens of videos of child pornography has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Court documents reflect that in August 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified law enforcement that a telephone number, later determined by law enforcement to belong to Eugenio Lopes Gomes, 47, was being utilized to upload child pornography. A court-authorized search and forensic audit of the defendant's electronic devices determined that the devices contained approximately 17,000 images and 144 videos of explicit material depicting children ranging in ages from one to twelve years old.

Lopes Gomes was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., to 36 months of incarceration to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. Lopes Gomes pleaded guilty on September 24, 2024, to a charge of possession of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julienne Kline, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter I. Roklan.

The matter was investigated by the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.

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