Stamford Man Charged with Child Exploitation Offenses

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, and Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw announced that RICK MARRO, 42, most recently residing in Stamford, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with child exploitation offenses.

Marro appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was ordered detained.

As alleged in court documents, law enforcement began investigating Marro in August 2023 after a 16-year-old male victim reported that he had been sexually exploited by Marro.  The victim reported that he met Marro on a dating application, and they then began communicating on Snapchat in April 2023.  The victim indicated that they met in person at Marro’s house on multiple occasions, and two of the encounters were sexual in nature.  The victim reported that Marro gave him “poppers,” that Marro was “into” asphyxiation, and, on one occasion, Marro strangled him and he passed out “for a minute or two.”  A law enforcement review of the victim’s Snapchat account showed that Marro sent him videos that Marro had recorded of them engaged in sexual activity.  He also sent the victim a video depicting Marro choking him.

It is further alleged that law enforcement subsequently seized and searched Marro’s cell phone.  During the examination of Marro’s phone, law enforcement located the same videos that he recorded and sent the victim showing them engaged in sexual activity.  Investigators also located text messages that Marro had sent to another individual in which Marro stated that he “choked [the victim] all the way to unconscious today by accident.”

The complaint charges Marro with production of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years; receipt and distribution of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

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

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Stamford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

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.