City man guilty of child porn charges

wORNRstRR » A Fitchburg man pleaded guilty Monday to enticement of a minor and child pornography charges in federal court in Worcester, according to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling.

Ryan Decarolis, 27, pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman. Decarolis has been in custody since his arrest on Aug. 2, 2019, according to Lel

ling’s office.

Decarolis admitted that he used a social media account to communicate with an individual who was subsequently charged with production and distribution of child pornography.

With the consent of that individual, an undercover federal agent assumed control of that individual’s account and began communicating in an undercover capacity with Decarolis, according to Lelling’s office.

In January 2019, Decarolis distributed child pornography to the undercover officer, and in April 2019, Decarolis provided the undercover officer with access to his Dropbox account, which contained hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography. Included in that mate

rial was at least one video that depicted Decarolis sexually assaulting a young boy.

In August 2019, during a search of Decarolis’s Fitchburg residence, agents seized a tablet belonging to Decarolis that contained additional videos depicting child pornography. In addition, agents identified a second Dropbox account used by Decarolis that contained videos depicting the sexual exploitation of several children. Included within that material were numerous images and videos that Decarolis produced himself, some of which depicted Decarolis separately sexually assaulting at least four boys under the age of 12.

The charge of sexual exploitation of a minor provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a minimum mandatory of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The charge of distribution of child

pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a minimum mandatory of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison because the material involved a child who had not attained the age of 12, a minimum mandatory of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to Lelling’s office.

Decarolis will be sentenced by Hillman on Jan. 15.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.