Tiverton Man Arrested, Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Tiverton man allegedly found to be in possession of more than 150 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse was arrested on Tuesday on a charge of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

David Burke, 63, was arrested following a court-authorized search of his residence by members of the FBI Boston Division’s Child Exploitation-Human Trafficking Task Force that resulted in the alleged discovery of 160 images and videos depicting child pornography downloaded to a desktop computer.

According to charging documents, an ongoing FBI Project Safe Childhood investigation into the use of an online peer-to-peer software program determined that in June 2021, an IP address associated with Burke’s residence requested that files containing child pornography be downloaded from the peer-to-peer network. It is alleged that a video file containing approximately 23 minutes and 15 seconds of child sexual exploitation, and second containing a 13-minute video were downloaded.

Burke made an initial appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan on Tuesday and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This Project Safe Childhood case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly.

The matter was investigated by the FBI Boston Division’s Child Exploitation-Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes detectives from the Providence and Warwick Police Departments. United States Attorney Cunha thanks the Tiverton Police Department for their assistance on Tuesday at the residence of Mr. Burke.

###