Anthony Wertz Sentenced – Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom

District of Rhode Island

Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for  Possessing Child Pornography

PROVIDENCE – A registered sex offender convicted in June 2024 on a charge of possession of child pornography has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Anthony Wertz, 32, of East Providence, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Court Senior Judge William E. Smith to 120 months of incarceration to be followed by fifteen years of supervised release.

According to information presented to the court, in July 2022, while serving a term of Rhode Island state probation related to a 2019 conviction for possession of child pornography, Wertz was found by East Providence Police to be in possession of internet-accessible devices, a violation of the terms of his probation. Child sexual abuse material was discovered in plain view on a smartphone in Wertz’s possession.

Simultaneous to the East Providence Police Department investigation, the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online account, later determined to be used by Wertz, had uploaded child sexual abuse material.

Prior to this conviction, Wertz had previously been convicted by the State of Rhode Island twice for possession of child pornography or related offenses.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney G. Michael Seaman, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. McAdams and Milind Shah.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc