CONCORD – A Rochester man was sentenced Thursday in federal court for sexually exploiting a minor, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Richard Crispin, 26, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty to 15 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. Crispin plead guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor on June 15, 2023
“Sexually exploiting children is a particularly heinous crime,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “Thanks to the survivor’s courage, the defendant will no longer be able to abuse other vulnerable minors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to prevent the production of child sexual abuse material and ensure that those who produce such material are prosecuted and sentenced to long periods of incarceration.”
“Crispin abused and exploited a minor for years, creating videos documenting his abuse and soliciting her to send him even more. It takes real bravery to come forward to report an abuser, and HSI commends this survivor for speaking up. Today’s sentence ensures Crispin will be behind bars and unable do harm for a long time,” said Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England.
According to documents and statements made in Court, the defendant engaged in sexual acts with a minor beginning when the minor was fourteen years old. The defendant made videos depicting some of these sexual acts, which are the subject of the federal charges. The defendant also requested that the survivor send him sexually explicit images via text message. The offense took place over an extended period of time and came to light when the survivor disclosed her contacts with the defendant to a school resource officer. The defendant has pending state charges in both New Hampshire and Maine related to the same survivor.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by Somersworth Police Department, Stratford County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester Police Department and North Berwick, Maine Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cam Le and Kasey Weiland prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.