Massachusetts man sentenced for possessing child love manual, sexual abuse images

BOSTON – A former civilian employee of the Hanscom Air Force Base was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with possessing thousands of files depicting child pornography, including a manual titled “How to Practice Child Love.”

William Gates, 41, of Burlington, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 30 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In April 2019, Gates pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

In November 2017, law enforcement in Boston received information from authorities in Australia about an investigation involving an online personal photo site, known for hosting child pornography. Australian investigators observed a user of the site posting photographs of, and comments regarding, an approximately six-year-old boy on a school bus, who the user identified as a child on a field trip they were chaperoning. Australian and U.S. authorities were able to trace the account activity to IP addresses assigned to Gates’s home in Burlington and to Hanscom Air Force Base, where Gates was a civilian employee at the time.

A search of two of his digital devices revealed approximately 51 images of child pornography. More than 900 child pornography files were recovered during a search of Gates’s home. He was subsequently indicted by a Middlesex grand jury for possession of child pornography. Further forensic analysis of one of Gates’ laptops revealed an encrypted volume, where approximately 5,000 images and 440 videos of child pornography were hidden, as well as a document titled, “How to Practice Child Love,” which purports to serve as a guide to teach adults how to have sex with children.

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