Massachusetts man sentenced to prison after over 600 pieces of child pornography found

BOSTON – A Duxbury man was sentenced in federal court today for a child pornography offense.

Louis Ackerman Jr., 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 78 months in prison and five years of supervised release. In May 2020, Ackerman pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Ackerman was arrested and charged in November 2019.

On Nov. 15, 2019, federal agents executed a search warrant at Ackerman Jr.’s home and located an iMac computer and two hard drives belonging to him. An onsite forensic review revealed images and videos of child pornography on that computer. From under Ackerman Jr.’s bed, agents recovered printed material which depicted child pornography. Further review of the computer and other materials seized from the residence revealed approximately 295 videos and approximately 322 images of child pornography, including prepubescent minors under the age of 12.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Field Division; Barnstable Police Chief Matthew Sonnabend; and Duxbury Police Chief Stephen McDonald made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.