Stamford Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Offense

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIEN PENNELL, 31, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for using the internet to download and view child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2008, Pennell was convicted in state court of sexual assault and possession of child pornography offenses.  Pennell served 30 months in prison and was sentenced to 15 years of probation for those offenses.

On February 2, 2018, after an investigation revealed that an IP address registered to Pennell was being used to share images and videos of child pornography via the Kik application, Connecticut probation officers conducted a compliance search of Pennell’s residence and vehicle and seized various electronic media, including a smart phone and a tablet, both of which were located in a hidden compartment under the steering wheel of the vehicle.

Subsequent analysis of the seized electronic devices, Pennell’s Kik account and a Dropbox account he maintained, revealed 148 videos and 40 images of child pornography, some of which depict the sexual abuse of children younger than 12.

Pennell has been detained since his federal arrest on March 20, 2018.  On June 26, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

Pennell faced an enhanced mandatory minimum prison term in this case based on his criminal history.

This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of Connecticut’s Office of Adult Probation and the Stamford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.

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.