Kingfield Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Production and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

BANGOR, Maine: A Kingfield man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor today for production and possession of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Richard Hinkley, 56, of Kingfield to 20 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $16,500 in restitution. Hinkley pleaded guilty on March 11, 2022.

According to court records, between May 2009 and April 2010, Hinkley coerced a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct through online video chat communications. He recorded images of the minor during some of the sessions. The investigation revealed that Hinkley possessed a hard drive that contained images of child pornography including some he had collected using a peer-to-peer network. Some were sexually explicit images of prepubescent children under the age of 12.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: "Child pornography" captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer re-victimization each time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action. If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, call 911 or contact your local police or sheriff’s department.

Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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