Meriden Man Charged with Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARK W. IRVIN, 63, of Meriden, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with production and possession of child pornography.

IRVIN was arrested on September 18.  He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in New Haven, who ordered IRVIN detained.

As alleged in the criminal complaint, law enforcement officers received information from a teenage male that IRVIN had had repeated sexual contact with him since he was 15 years old, and that there are cameras in IRVIN’s residence recording all the time.  The male also stated that he had observed IRVIN engaged in sexual contact with other minors at the residence.

On September 8, 2015, law enforcement officers conducted a search of IRVIN’s residence and observed cameras in several rooms, including cameras in the bathroom of the residence.  Officers seized camcorders, computers, VHS tapes, CDs, DVDs and multiple thumb drives and data storage devices.  The forensic analysis of the devices is only in its initial stages, but the complaint alleges that one of the devices contained sexually explicit photographs of a 13 year old male.

The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.  The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the Meriden Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the Connecticut State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

Citizens with information that may be relevant to this ongoing investigation should call the Meriden Police Department at 203-238-1911.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.