Stamford Resident Charged with Child Exploitation, Destruction of Evidence Offenses

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment yesterday charging ADAM WOLFE, 27, of Stamford, with child exploitation and destruction of evidence offenses.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in November 2023, HSI and Ridgefield Police began investigating Wolfe for possessing child sex abuse material. On November 22, 2023, investigators interviewed Wolfe at his former residence in Ridgefield and Wolfe gave consent for a search of his iPhone and laptop. Forensic analysis of the laptop revealed thousands of individual child sex abuse images that were recovered from the "recycle bin" of the laptop. Analysis of the iPhone revealed that Wolfe had deleted a TOR browser, which is often used to access child pornography on the dark web, during his interview with law enforcement on November 22, 2026.

Wolfe was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on September 30, 2024.

The indictment charges Wolfe with one count of receipt of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; one count of possession of child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and one count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Wolfe has been released on a $50,000 bond since his arrest. His arraignment is not yet scheduled.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Ridgefield Police Department, and the Watertown Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon through 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.comLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..