Sex offender pleads guilty to child pornography charge

BRANFORD — A 42-yearold Branford man pleaded guilty in court Thursday after officials found he had more than 250 unique images and videos of child sexual abuse, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Leonard Boyle.

Police found that registered sex offender Michael Holm, 42, possessed child sex abuse images on his phone and his Dropbox account from September 2014 to March 2021. Holm also used various websites and mobile applications, such as Discord and Skype, to distribute these images to others, sometimes in exchange for other child sex abuse imagery, Boyle’s office said.

Officials reviewed Holm’s phone and online accounts to find that he possessed at least 142 unique image files and 118 unique video files of child sex abuse, including those with infants and toddlers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Holm was arrested May 24 and has been detained since, Boyle’s office said.

Holm pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December, according to Boyle’s office.

Holm was sentenced in 2011 to three months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for a similar charge. Because of this, he faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum term of 20 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.CyberTipLine.com.