Ellsworth Man Sentenced For Having 1,000+ Porn Images Of Children

An Ellsworth man is sentenced to 121 months in prison for possessing hundreds of child pornography images and videos.

Ellsworth Man Gets Prison Sentence, Ordered to Pay $90K in Restitution

Kevin Lee Ross, 62, was in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Thursday for his sentencing after he was found guilty by a federal jury on June 14, 2024. In addition to the 10+ years in prison on that charge, he was sentenced to 24 months for violating his supervised release from an earlier conviction. Those sentences will be served consecutively. According to the U.S. Attorney, District of Maine, Ross was also ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution.

Authorities Discovered More Than 1,400 Images and Videos in Ross's Possession

The charges stem from an investigation in March of last year when Ross's relative told authorities that they were concerned that he was using a cell phone to view pornography. Ross was on federal supervised release following a 2014 federal conviction for possessing child pornography and was prohibited from possessing any unapproved or unmonitored internet-capable device.

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Probation Officers conducted an unannounced home inspection in April 2024 at Ross's residence and found a cell phone, as well as a trash bag containing drug paraphernalia. When they turned the phone on, authorities say the screen displayed a sexually explicit image of a young child. Authorities then found more than 500 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. A search of a vehicle used by Lee revealed a laptop and external hard drive hidden in the spare tire wheel well. The computer had 187 images and videos of child sexual abuse material while the external hard drive contained 761 photos and videos.

If You Are Being Abused or Suspect Someone of Possessing Child Porn, Report It

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt, or production of child pornography, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. If 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.