Crime & Safety

Trumbull Man Gets 18 Months on Child Porn Charges

He had 1,738 image files and 685 videos of child pornography, prosecutors say.


Michael Drzal, 22, of Trumbull, was sentenced Friday by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

"According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2011, a Connecticut State Police Trooper assigned to the Computer Crimes Unit and an FBI Special Agent assigned to the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force in New Haven each logged into a publicly available Internet file sharing program and downloaded videos of child pornography from shared directories maintained by Drzal. On June 22, 2011, law enforcement agents conducted a court-authorized search of Drzal’s Trumbull residence and seized a computer and hard drives," according to a press release.

Drzal pleaded guilty on December 20, 2011, to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

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He will have to register as a sex offender after his release from prison, prosecutors said.

"As special conditions of his 10-year-term of supervised release, the United States Probation Office is authorized to monitor Drzal’s computer use and conduct random searches of his residence, automobile and workplace.  Also, Drzal must not have any unsupervised contact with children who are under the age of 18 without the express permission of the U.S. Probation Office and his mental health treatment provider," the release states.

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The case was investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Neeraj Patel.

The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, and the District of Connecticut’s “Operation Constant Vigilance,” aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.


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