Massachusetts man pleads guilty to child pornography offenses Wednesday

BOSTON – A Whitman man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to child pornography offenses.

Matthew Kulikowski, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2020. Kulikowski was arrested and charged in September 2018, and has been in custody since that time.

Law enforcement learned that an internet user at Kulikowski’s Whitman home distributed child pornography using the Kik messenger application. A search of the home resulted in the seizure of a tablet located in Kulikowski’s bedroom that contained at least 300 images and videos depicting child pornography, including the sexual assault of girls who appeared to be between four-and-eight-years-old.

At the time of his arrest, Kulikowski was on pretrial release from Plymouth County Superior Court, where he had a case pending for multiple child exploitation offenses, including possession of child pornography, disseminating obscene material to a minor, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and enticement of a child under 16. He has since been convicted of those offenses.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Both charges provide for a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police, Whitman Police Department and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.