Press release from U.S. Department of Justice

On Jan. 8, Joseph Amadeo, 39, of North Branford was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for downloading child sex abuse images and videos from the dark web. Amadeo’s sentencing was announced by Vanessa Roberts Avery, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, on Jan. 9.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2020 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating Amadeo for his involvement in an online community of individuals who sent and received child pornography images and videos on the dark web. Amadeo was a registered sex offender on the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry based on a 2013 state conviction involving child pornography.

On March 24, 2021, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Amadeo’s residence in which they seized Amadeo’s computer and other electronic devices. Analysis of the devices revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, many as young as infants.

Amadeo was arrested on June 3, 2021. On April 19, 2023, he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Amadeo, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Feb. 2.

This matter was investigated by HSI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Oakes and Shan Patel.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.