Maine Man Indicted on Child Exploitation Charges

Patrick Plummer, 29, of Parsonsfield, Maine, was indicted on one count of attempted enticement of a minor, one count of intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person under 18 years of age and one count of transportation of child pornography. Plummer was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in January 2021.

It is alleged that Plummer communicated via various messaging applications with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl and devised a plan to meet the purported child in Georgetown, Mass. to have sex. On Sept. 26, 2020, Plummer allegedly drove from Maine to a predetermined location in Georgetown, as they had planned. Officers arrested Plummer on scene, and found him in possession of four cell phones, a computer and a spring-release knife. Preliminary analysis of the electronic evidence seized from Plummer’s car revealed in excess of 100 images and videos of child pornography on at least three of the devices. Preliminary analysis also revealed evidence that Plummer was logged into the account from which he had communicated with the undercover officer. Forensic analysis of the devices is ongoing.

According to court documents, Plummer admitted that he had traveled from Maine to meet the purported 13-year-old girl, that he was talking to approximately 10 underaged girls and that investigators would find child pornography on his devices.

The charge of attempted enticement of a minor provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison. The charge of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The charge of transportation of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. All three charges carry a minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district 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 Georgetown Police Chief Donald C. Cudmore made the announcement today. The Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Salisbury and Newbury Police Departments provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Duane of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The case was 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/.