Former Tyngsboro Middle School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

BOSTON—A North Chelmsford man was convicted today in federal court on charges of child pornography.

DOUGLAS L. WRIGHT, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro to transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that WRIGHT, a former middle school teacher with the Tyngsboro Public Schools, used an online peer-to-peer file-sharing program to offer and transmit images of child pornography on the Internet. WRIGHT admitted to being interested in child pornography for several years, to downloading child pornography images in the past few years, and to possessing hundreds of child pornography images. The images included those of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Judge Tauro scheduled sentencing for May 11, 2011. WRIGHT, who will remain in custody, faces up to 20 years in prison to be followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office, and Chief James F. Murphy of the Chelmsford Police Department made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Yoon of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit and the DOJ’s Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Bonnie Kane of the Criminal Division.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.