A 23-year-old resident of Waterville, Maine, was sentenced to more than five
years in prison Friday for distributing child pornography over the Internet.
According to the Department of Justice, the child pornography involved was
produced through the use of actual minors engaging in sexually explicit
conduct. The material was allegedly a visual depiction of such conduct.
In addition to 62 months in jail, Zachary John Nielson Gimpel faces
supervised release for life after he leaves prison.
Gimpel was arrested on March 25, 2005, in Portland, Maine, after he
sent child pornography over the Internet to an undercover Secret Service
agent in the District of Columbia on April 30, 2004.
According to the government’s evidence, Gimpel “transported” the child
pornography by operating his mother’s computer as a file server, which
allowed selected files to be downloaded by the public and allowed the public
to upload files to that computer.
Gimpel also advertised on the “100%preteengirlsexpics” Internet Relay Chat
(IRC) channel. He allegedly made available to the public a collection of
thousands of images and movie files of child pornography and erotic
depictions of children.
“By disseminating child pornography, this defendant and other miscreants
like him inflict lasting damage to the physical and emotional well-being of
the child victims,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Kenneth L.
Wainstein said in a statement.
“They also contribute to the deviance of
those who download and view their materials.”