'Defenseless toddlers.' Barnstable man sentenced for exploiting 4-year-olds
A Barnstable man, Atticus Bernard, 22, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week in federal court in Boston after pleading guilty in November 2022 of two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography
According to a statement by the Department of Justice, Bernard was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to the time in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for sexually exploiting two minor girls who were approximately four years old.
Bernard's lawyers, Brendan Kelley and Scott Lauer, did not return a request for comment.
Atticus Bernard is sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release after prison.
The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a sentence of up to 30 years, a minimum of 15 years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Initially the government recommended a sentence of 30 years in prison.
“There are sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors in every case and the judge makes the sentencing decision based on all those elements,” said Caroline Ferguson of the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston.
Bernard pleaded guilty to all three charges.
Bernard was arrested and indicted in July 2021 on two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. In November 2022, Bernard pleaded guilty to all three charges.
On separate occasions in approximately November 2019 and approximately October 2020, Bernard sexually exploited two minor girls under the age of five years old and who were known to him. Bernard documented the abuse and exploitation and possessed the child sexual abuse material on his cell phone. A search of Bernard’s phone in January 2021 revealed numerous photos of him exploiting the minor victims, according to the statement.
Bernard admitted that he had assaulted approximately five girls and recorded the assaults and that each victim was assaulted four or five times.
'A measure of justice' for the families
“We hope that today’s sentence brings a measure of justice to these families as they heal and move forward,” said Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, in the statement.
The case was brought forward as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative started in 2006 that was designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse, according to the statement.
The initiative is led by the U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and uses federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, the statement said.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable man sentenced to 20 years on child pornography charges
