CONCORD – A Manchester man was sentenced today in federal court for producing child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Chad Lawlor, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty to 25 years in prison and 30 years of supervised release. Lawlor pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor on November 13, 2023.

“The defendant is a recidivist sex offender that continued to prey upon and exploit children long after his previous conviction for hands-on sex offenses against a minor,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “Today’s sentence ensures that the public will be safe from the defendant for more than two decades. We will never be able to undo the immeasurable harm Lawlor caused his survivors, but I hope today’s lengthy sentence provides the survivors some measure of comfort and justice that they deeply deserve.”

“Lawlor, already a convicted sex offender, manipulated young children into engaging in sexually explicit conduct in a private video chat which he recorded. He was the ringleader of an online group devoted to the sharing of images and videos that immortalized the abuse of innocent kids for the members’ own sick gratification. Today’s sentence takes him off the street,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “We stand with the families of those Lawlor preyed on and hope today’s sentence can bring some closure as they begin to move forward.”

“NH ICAC is honored and privileged to work with so many dedicated law enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys,” said Lieutenant Eric Kinsman, Commander of the New Hampshire ICAC Task Force. “It’s this type of professional and collaborative relationship that brings cases like this to a successful conclusion and helps the victims of these heinous crimes take one step closer to the peace and happiness they deserve.”

“Anyone who chooses to engage in the sexual exploitation of children possess a significant threat to society,” said Chief Kevin Rourke of the Nashua Police Department. “The Nashua Police Department is committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting those individuals to the fullest extent of the law.”

Lawlor was identified during an online undercover investigation as being the administrator of an online chat group that was devoted to the exchange of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).  Lawlor used the chat group to both send and receive images of CSAM with other users.  Lawlor is a registered sex offender based on a 2005 Massachusetts conviction for indecent assault and battery on a person over 14.

Pursuant to a search warrant in April 2021, federal agents seized and examined two cell phones belonging to Lawlor, one of which contained numerous videos Lawlor created while engaged in online video chats with minors.  During the video chats, Lawlor directed the minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  Lawlor used the screen recording function of his cell phone to create videos of the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct from the video chats.  Lawlor pled guilty to charges relating to four identified minors ranging in age from 8 to 13 years old.

Homeland Security Investigations led the federal investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Nashua Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney 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.