U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha | U.S. Department of Justice
A Charlestown man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison following his fourth conviction on child pornography charges, as announced by United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Patrick K. Beattie, aged 39, admitted to a federal judge that he began downloading and storing hundreds of digital images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material as early as March 2023. The materials included minors, some prepubescent, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some files were reportedly downloaded from the dark web.
Court records indicate that Beattie had previous convictions and sentences for unrelated child pornography charges in 2017, 2022, and 2023.
U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose sentenced Beattie to 120 months of incarceration followed by fifteen years of federal supervised release. On October 21, 2024, Beattie pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography; no plea agreement was filed.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Christine D. Lowell.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations, Charlestown Police, the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with support from the Rhode Island Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Unit.
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