Newburgh man who possessed massive cache of child sexual abuse material sentenced
Content warning: This article discusses alleged instances of child sexual abuse
EVANSVILLE — A federal judge sentenced a Newburgh man who admitted to possessing upwards of 1,400 videos depicting child sexual abuse, including an infamous video depicting the brutal torture and molestation of a prepubescent girl, to serve 12 years in prison Wednesday.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the judge could have imposed up to a 20-year sentence.
Anthony J. Richardson, 30, pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, according to federal court records. That plea agreement followed a joint Warrick County Sheriff's Office and FBI investigation that led to Richardson's arrest in July 2020 and uncovered more than 1,000 digital files depicting the abuse of children.
Original Story:Newburgh man facing felony child exploitation charges after police found child pornography
Federal investigators said Richardson admitted that he was "sexually aroused by depictions of children being subjected to sexual abuse," and that he had collected videos and images depicting that abuse "for a long time."
At least one of those videos included graphic scenes of torture and rape connected to a series of violent sexual crimes in the Philippines.
Still, Richardson's attorney, Steven L. Bohleber, told the court his client should receive a lighter sentence, in part because he had a good relationship with a juvenile family member.
Bohleber also said Richardson's lack of a criminal record "makes him somewhat unique from most offenders appearing before this court" and that as a college graduate and employee of Berry Global, Richardson has "demonstrated over time that he can excel and continue to be a productive member of society."
Bohleber argued that if Richardson were to receive a lengthy sentence, it could contribute to the "destructive effects of lengthy incarceration."
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Case illustrates broader child exploitation problem
According to court records, Richardson hit law enforcement radar during, or before, 2020, when investigators traced the upload of child sexual abuse materials to Richardson's home in Newburgh.
Federal prosecutors accused Richardson of downloading, possessing or accessing hundreds of illicit files, some titled with graphic file names indicating the children being abused in the videos may have been as young as 3.
Richardson also reportedly admitted that at least one of the files stemmed from a horrifying collection of videos filmed by convicted child rapist Peter Gerard Scully depicting the brutal torture and rape of a young Filipino girl.
A court in the Philippines eventually sentenced Scully to serve more than 100 years in prison. The case highlighted the country's battle against criminals seeking to profit off child sexual abuse by selling videos and images to Western buyers.
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According to Richardson's plea agreement, he would locate some of the files by using Microsoft's Bing Visual Search application.
In 2019, a commission setup by the media outlet Tech Crunch found that Bing not only showed child sexual abuse materials to users who searched for specific terms, it would sometimes include the images and videos in suggested search results.
"The evidence shows a massive failure on Microsoft’s part to adequately police its Bing search engine and to prevent its suggested searches and images from assisting pedophiles," Tech Crunch wrote in 2019.
Microsoft now says it deploys sophisticated "tools to detect child sexual exploitation and abuse imagery" across its Bing search engine platform.
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In a news release published after Richardson's sentencing, federal prosecutor Zachary A. Myers said the children depicted in child sexual abuse material are revictimized every time those materials are shared.
"These abhorrent crimes will not go unpunished," Myers said. "Every day, pedophiles trade and view horrific depictions of child rape and sexual exploitation online.
"Sentences like the one imposed today should put potential offenders on notice: Those who sexually abuse our children or trade in images of that abuse will be held accountable and sent to prison.”
Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions. Twitter: @houston_whh.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Anthony Richardson of Newburgh sentenced in child porn case
