HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, MA. – A Granby man was convicted today by a federal jury in Springfield of child exploitation offenses.
Jonathan Monson, 38, was convicted of four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Jan. 7, 2021. The defendant was arrested on March 8, 2018 and has been held in custody since that time.
Monson used a child on four occasions in 2017 and 2018 to produce child pornography, which was later found on his cell phone. In June 2017, Monson distributed child pornography files to a Kik messenger group. Monson was trading child pornography videos on Kik messenger at 3:30 in the morning with another Kik user, just a few hours before federal agents executed a search warrant at his home. The evidence at trial also showed that Monson had additional child pornography files on his phone at the time of the search warrant.
The charge of sexual exploitation of a child provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.