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Manchester resident Luqman Gotti, formerly known as Timothy Pennington, has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges after exchanging photos with a boy, despite his prior conviction.
Last June, Gotti, 37, and a teenager began communicating through the Kik instant messaging application. When the boy told Gotti that he was 14 years old, Gotti requested that he send a sexually explicit image to him, and sent one of himself to the teen. The teen then reciprocated and sent one of his own.
According to U.S. Attorney John Durham, during the conversation with the teen, Gotti said: “I already went to jail over a 14-year-old (girl) not trying to go through that again.” Gotti then asked the boy for more sexually explicit pictures. In response, the boy sent Gotti another sexually explicit photo and video of himself.
Gotti’s name in 2000, when he sustained the initial sexual assault conviction, was Timothy Pennington. Gotti legally changed his name from Timothy Pennington after the conviction.
Gotti has pleaded guilty to one count of accessing with intent to view child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. According to Durham; however, based on Gotti’s prior felony conviction in Connecticut sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl, “the government’s position is that Gotti faces enhanced penalties of a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.”
Durham said that Gotti has been in state custody on related charges since Nov. 14 last year. He was arrested on the federal criminal complaint on April 25. No sentencing date has been scheduled.
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