Local man guilty of owning 40,000 images and 800 videos of child pornography

PROVIDENCE – A Cranston man is facing a recommended term of incarceration of 42 months in federal prison when he is sentenced in September, after admitting to a federal court judge on Wednesday that he had been in possession of over 40,000 images and 800 videos of child pornography.

According to information presented in court, in January 2018, members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force observed an IP address sharing files of suspected child pornography. Law enforcement connected the IP address to Steven Papazian, 32, of Cranston.

On February 8, 2018, members of the ICAC Task Force executed a court-authorized search of Papazian’s residence and seized a computer and multiple digital storage devices. A forensic audit of the computer identified over 40,000 images and 800 videos of child pornography, including several previously identified victims.

Papazian’s guilty plea on Wednesday to possession of child pornography is announced by United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police Colonel James M. Manni, and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh.

Papazian is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on September 26, 2019. An agreed upon plea agreement filed in this matter recommends the court impose a sentenced of 42 months in federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.

The matter was investigated by the ICAC Task Force, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.