Man pleads guilty to having thousands of images of child porn

Robert Severance (Police mugshot)

CONCORD - A 61-year-old Manchester man, pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to distributing and possessing child pornography, the U.S. Attorneys Office reported today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 15, 2019, the Manchester Police Department ("MPD") received a tip previously submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by the social media website Instagram. The tip reported that on June 6, 2019 a file uploaded to Instagram was identified as a Child Sexual Abuse Image. MPD investigators later determined that the Instagram account was associated with Robert Severance, who was a registered sex offender in Manchester.

Manchester Police investigators spoke with Severance at his residence in Manchester on July 22, 2019. He voluntarily went to the MPD and consented to an interview. Severance admitted to creating the Instagram account and explained that he portrayed himself as a 15-year-old female in order to talk with other young females. He stated that he had a laptop at home and admitted to receiving thousands of pictures and/or videos of child pornography via email.

A search warrant executed at Severance's home the following day resulted in the seizure of numerous electronic devices and other media items. Forensic review of all items seized from the defendant revealed thousands of images and over one hundred videos of child pornography.

Severance is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1.

"Few missions of law enforcement are more important than protecting our children," said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray. "We are committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute all of those who are involved in the exploitation of children. In order to keep Granite State children safe, we will not hesitate to bring federal criminal charges against those who distribute child pornography."