New Britain Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Offense

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSHUA GLAESER, 36, of New Britain, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2022, a Connecticut State Police detective investigating child exploitation offenses identified an IP address at Glaeser's New Britain residence that was being used in the distribution of child pornography. In 2012, Glaeser was convicted in state court of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, execution suspended after two years, followed by 10 years of probation, which Glaeser was currently serving.

On December 9, 2022, HSI special agents executed a court authorized search warrant at Glaeser's residence and seized his Chromebook, tablet, smartphone and storage cards. Analysis of the seized items revealed more 3,000 images and videos of child pornography, including images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants and toddlers. The investigation also revealed that Glaeser used a peer-to-peer file sharing network to distribute child pornography to other users.

At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Glaeser faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The penalties in this matter are enhanced because of Glaeser's prior state conviction for possessing child pornography.

Glaeser has been detained since December 9, 2022.

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Connecticut State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.