Maine man who possessed nearly 50K images and videos of child sex abuse gets 15 years in prison

A 33-year-old man possessing thousands of images and videos of child sex abuse, including infants and toddlers, was sentenced to prison time as well as supervised release and restitution.

In 2023, Cote Noonan of Windham sent three videos of child sex abuse to an undercover FBI agent on TeleGuard, an instant messaging application, according to a statement from the Maine District of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The agent witnessed Noonan sending child abuse videos and images in a trading room on two other occasions under the name “Femboy Cassidy."

'This sentence will protect children from being victimized and hopefully offer some measure of justice to those he exploited.'

When Noonan was questioned by investigators, he admitted to operating the account and said they would find the illicit material on his digital devices. Four of the devices seized by the FBI contained images and videos of child sex abuse totaling nearly 50,000 in number.

He also admitted to sexually abusing a child and recording the abuse on several occasions. Investigators were not able to find the videos of that abuse.

Noonan pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material in June.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced him to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $108,000 in restitution to his victims.

“Mr. Noonan admitted to a long and disturbing history which includes viewing and downloading child sexual abuse materials for more than two decades, in addition to engaging in illicit sexual contact with children,” read a statement from U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee. “This sentence will protect children from being victimized and hopefully offer some measure of justice to those he exploited.”

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