The Attorney General’s Office announced that Paul Frasca, 58, of Chester, Vermont was arraigned today on seven felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. The charges brought against Mr. Frasca are the result of a criminal investigation, including the execution of search warrants conducted by the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC), and included personnel from the Attorney General’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Hartford Police Department, and Chester Police Department.
The investigation was initiated when the VT-ICAC Task Force received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) that an individual that was suspected to possess images of child sexual abuse material on an electronic device, which was reported by Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. after child sexual abuse materials were uploaded onto their cloud storage servers. Based on the criminal investigation of that tip, Mr. Frasca was identified as the owner of the account and corresponding electronic device associated with the child sexual abuse materials uploaded to Synchronoss.
Mr. Frasca pleaded not guilty at his arraignment today in Vermont Superior Court, Washington Unit, Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Lisa A. Warren presiding, ordered conditions of release which restrict Mr. Frasca’s access to minors, provide for limited access to the internet and use of certain electronic devices.
VT-ICAC investigates cases of child sexual exploitation occurring over the internet, including the production and online distribution of child sexual abuse materials. VT-ICAC also provides forensic examination services, technical assistance, law enforcement training, and public education and outreach.
Every child deserves a safe childhood. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. Anyone can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet. To make a report, call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678 or visit https://report.cybertip.org.
Additionally, if you are recovering from child sexual exploitation, you do not have to navigate it alone. NCMEC can help with emotional and peer support, removing content from the internet, and locating mental health professionals. For more information, please visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources or call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678.
The Attorney General’s Office emphasizes that individuals charged with a crime are legally presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-371-9798