Tips to NCMEC CyberTipline Lead to 20-Year Sentence for Lewiston Man Who Possessed, Distributed Child Pornography

PORTLAND, Maine: A Lewiston man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Harold Clayton III, 35, to 20 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Clayton pleaded guilty on March 26, 2025.

According to court records, in June 2022, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit (MSPCCU) received two CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and traced the identified phone number to Clayton. In September 2022, MSPCCU and the Lewiston Police Department executed a search warrant at Clayton's residence. A cell phone and laptop seized from Clayton and the residence contained multiple images and videos of children, some as young as toddlers, being sexually abused by adult men. The cell phone also contained Telegram Messenger communications in which Clayton distributed such images and videos.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and MSPCCU investigated the case with assistance from the Lewiston Police Department.

"HSI commends the reporting of this heinous abuse of children to the CyberTip line, enabling law enforcement to take action and make sure Harold Clayton faced the full weight of justice," said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. "It is critically important the public join us in this fight against online child sexual exploitation by reporting suspicious activity. Together, we can protect and safeguard our children."

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child sexual abuse material: Child sexual abuse material - referred to in legal terms as "child pornography" - captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims' exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. In 2023, NCMEC received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

###