A Southwest Harbor resident, Gary Peters, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor to two counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.
Court records indicate that in October 2023, Peters, 36, used a social media and messaging application to solicit and receive child pornography from two minors. The FBI executed a search warrant at his home on March 27, 2024, where additional illegal material was found on his electronic devices, including his cell phone.
Peters could face between five and twenty years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing will occur after the U.S. Probation Office completes a presentence investigative report. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), there were 36 million reports of possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials in 2023. Reports can be filed with NCMEC online at https://report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678. In Maine, support is available through a free statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The program coordinates efforts among federal, state and local agencies to locate offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
