Repeat Offender from Hampden Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

BANGOR, Maine: A Hampden man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for possessing child pornography involving a child under 12.

U.S. District Judge Stacey D. Neumann sentenced Michael King, 67, to 10 years imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $41,000 in restitution. King pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024.

According to court records, in November 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a CyberTip from Bing indicating that a user had uploaded a sexually explicit image of a child. The user’s IP address was traced to Michael King, and in May 2023, investigators from the Maine State Police and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant at King’s residence. In an interview with agents, King admitted to possessing child sexual abuse material and using the Bing application to copy images and videos. He advised the agents they would find his computer under the couch. The laptop was seized, and hundreds of images depicting child sexual abuse were recovered, many of young children. King is a repeat offender, having been also convicted of a similar offense in 2017 in Penobscot County Superior Court.

HSI and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – in legal terms, "child pornography” – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are shared or viewed. File a report with NCMEC at https://report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

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, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

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