Convicted sex offender sentenced for downloading child pornography
BANGOR, Maine - A previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced for a second time for possessing child pornography. The sentencing is a result of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Penobscot Country Sheriff’s Office, Bangor Police Department, and Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
Joshua Dunston, 38, of Bangor, a registered sex offender, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 121 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography, which he downloaded between March 17, 2015, and May 5, 2015. Dunston also received a consecutive sentenced of 24 additional months for violating the terms and conditions of his supervised release, stemming for his 2006 child pornography conviction.
Dunston, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 29 to the most recent charge, also was ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution.
According to court records, from about March 17 to about May 5, 2015, Dunston uploaded multiple images of child pornography to online accounts he controlled, and kept scores of additional images depicting the sexual exploitation of young children on his cell phone. At the time of these acts, Dunston was on supervised release for a 2006 child pornography conviction.
He was required to register as a sex offender because of the sexual abuse conviction and was registered at the time of his arrest on federal charges.
"Sadly, crimes of this nature are far more common than most would like to believe, but our special agents will never stop targeting these depraved individuals," said Matt Etre, special agent in charge for HSI Boston. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively target criminals who prey on the most vulnerable members of society."
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
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