Natick Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON – A Natick man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for possessing child pornography.

Joshua Bemis, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to six years in prison and five years of supervised release. In October 2019, Bemis pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography. Bemis was arrested and charged in November 2018.

Federal authorities received information from law enforcement in the United Kingdom regarding an individual – whose IP address was traced to Bemis’ Natick residence – who had posted child pornography on a photo sharing website. Law enforcement subsequently executed a search warrant and seized a laptop computer and separate hard drive, both of which contained numerous videos of children, including some that depict the rape of children as young as seven-years-old.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Jason Molina, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Natick Police Chief James G. Hicks made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.