Portland Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

PORTLAND, Maine — Jody Moczara, 45, pleaded guilty June 1 to receiving and possessing child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Moczara faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years on the receipt count under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2). The possession count carries a maximum of 10 years. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

The charges stemmed from a federal investigation that uncovered Moczara’s receipt and storage of explicit images and videos of minors. As a convicted offender he will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act upon release.

The plea eliminates the need for a trial and triggers a mandatory presentence investigation report that will detail the volume of material involved, Moczara’s criminal history and any aggravating factors such as the age of the victims depicted. The judge must impose at least the 15-year floor unless the government files a substantial-assistance motion under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 5K1.1.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing effort to prosecute online child-sexual-abuse material offenses. Federal law mandates a 15-year minimum for receipt convictions even for first-time offenders when the material involves prepubescent minors or sadistic content, thresholds prosecutors routinely meet in these prosecutions.

The guilty plea follows standard federal procedure in the District of Maine, where child-pornography cases have produced similar mandatory-minimum sentences in recent years. Congress set the current 15-year floor in the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act; lawmakers have not altered the penalty range since.