Albany man pleads guilty to posing as teenage boy to solicit child sexual abuse material

ALBANY, N.H. — Richard W. McIntosh, 36, pleaded guilty May 12 in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to charges that he posed online as a 15-year-old boy to induce an actual minor victim to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos.

The Department of Justice announcement identifies McIntosh as the sole defendant. He faces a statutory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life on the coercion and enticement count under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). The obstruction-of-justice count stems from his efforts to conceal evidence after investigators executed a search warrant on his electronic devices.

Scope of the conduct centers on a single documented minor victim whom McIntosh contacted through social media and gaming applications. The victim produced multiple images and videos at McIntosh’s direction before the account was identified and the investigation began. No additional victims are named in the charging documents.

The plea changes the case status from pending trial to sentencing. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante scheduled sentencing for Aug. 18, 2026. Upon release McIntosh will be subject to lifetime supervised release and mandatory sex-offender registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Downstream consequences include immediate activation of federal victim-notification protocols and restitution proceedings. The U.S. Attorney’s Office must prepare a presentence report that calculates McIntosh’s criminal-history category and applicable guidelines range.

The conviction also bars McIntosh from possessing firearms for life under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) and triggers forfeiture of the electronic devices used in the offense. Federal probation officers will assume responsibility for monitoring compliance with registration and internet-use restrictions after any prison term ends.

This case forms part of the Justice Department’s ongoing prosecution of online enticement offenses. The Albany man’s arrest followed a law-enforcement operation that combined forensic analysis of social-media accounts with cooperation from the minor victim’s family. The guilty plea eliminates the need for the victim to testify at trial.

Primary sources: U.S. Department of Justice