BANGOR, Maine — In what a federal judge called a case that "shock[s] the conscience," a Seal Cove man was sentenced to 70 years in prison on Thursday for creating, possessing, and transporting child pornography.
Keegan Richardson, 28, pleaded guilty on Oct. 4, 2021, and was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor. In addition to the 70-year sentence, he was ordered to pay $29,000 in restitution, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee.
In July 2020, Richardson entered a private internet chat group and chatted with an undercover FBI agent known to be a place where people met, discussed, and traded original sexual abuse material of underage children and links to child pornography McElwee said in a release.
Richardson confirmed he had access to a female child and shared sexually explicit pictures of the child with the agent.
He was arrested after a search warrant was executed for his home and phone.
Investigators later learned Richardson had access to two other minors and found multiple sexually explicit images of three images that Richardson had taken with his phone, as well as child sexual abuse material involving different minors.
“These cases shock the conscience,” U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker said. “It is impossible to overstate the harm the defendant has inflicted on [these children] and, by extension, to an unknown degree, on the community at large. What is just punishment for terrorizing [these children] and marketing that terrorism to strangers over the internet?”
“Keegan Richardson not only preyed on children, he callously violated three children who trusted him, causing lasting and profound damage," McElwee said in the release. "I can think of no greater violation, and I commend the FBI for their quick action to protect those children from further harm.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker's name due to incorrect information provided.
