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Cody Mercure pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A judge sentenced him on Tuesday, April 25. He'll spend 15 years on probation following his release, officials said.
“It is challenging to find the words that capture just how abhorrent and destructive this conduct was," said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. "This man sexually exploited an innocent 18-month-old child – a defenseless toddler who, at the time, was still in diapers – and recorded the abuse to watch again and again for his own sick gratification."
Investigators said Mercure was placed in charge of a toddler on February 2021, where he sexually abused the child and filmed the encounter. A month earlier, Mercure shared photos and videos of a prepubescent child being sexually abused via a messaging application, prosecutors said.
Officers also found hundreds of images and videos of child porn on his phone and in a cloud storage device when they raided his home on April 2021, authorities said.
“Mercure committed monstrous acts against a child and caused irrevocable pain in the lives of so many, "said Michael Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England. "We hope that today’s sentence offers resolution and peace for the victim and their family in this incredibly difficult time."
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