BOSTON — A Parsonsfield man pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court on Sept. 1 to traveling to have sex with a minor, as well as to possessing child pornography.
According to a news release issued by U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, 30-year-old Patrick Plummer pleaded guilty "to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under 18 years of age and one count of transportation of child pornography."
The release said U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled Plummer's sentencing for Dec. 20, 2022.
The Maine man was arrested and charged by criminal complaint back in January of 2021 and indicted in February of 2021, the release said.
According to the release, Plummer "communicated via various messaging applications with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl and devised a plan to meet the purported child in Georgetown, Mass to have sex."
The release stated he drove from Maine to a predetermined location in Georgetown on Sept. 26, 2020, where officers arrested him on the scene.
Upon arresting him, officers found Plummer to be in possession of "four cell phones, a computer, and a spring-release knife," according to the release.
"Forensic analysis of the electronic evidence seized from Plummer’s car revealed over 7,000 images and videos of child pornography on at least three of the devices," the release reported.
“Protecting the safety, innocence, and wellbeing of our children is some of the most important work we do,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in the release. “As the United States Attorney, and the guardian of my 13-year-old niece, this case is another heinous reminder of the real-life dangers of the internet and the predators that lurk online with the intention of targeting, exploiting, and sexualizing our children. We will continue to hold predators like Mr. Plummer accountable and fight to keep them removed from our communities.”
According to the release, Plummer admitted he had traveled from Maine to Massachusetts to meet the "13-year-old girl." Additionally, he admitted he was talking to around 10 other underage girls and that "child pornography would be found on his devices."
"Plummer further admitted that he shared these images with other individuals through Kik Messenger," the release said.
“What Patrick Plummer admitted to is abhorrent. This child predator traveled here from Maine to sexually assault what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, while in possession of over a hundred images and videos depicting other children, some toddlers, being sexually abused,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said in the release. “Sexual assaults against children remain an ongoing, pervasive problem, and we will continue to do everything we can to identify and apprehend the individuals responsible for these atrocious acts.”
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