A Holyoke man whose computer contained 16,000 images and 35 videos of child pornography pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Edward F. Dupont, 75, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. He has been incarcerated since his August 2015 arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26.
Federal agents executed a search warrant on Dupton’s residence on June 23, 2015, when they seized the computer with the images and videos — four of the videos depicted the rapes of girls as young as 5 years old, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Dupont also possessed a 170-page manual titled, “How to Practice Child Love,” which presents itself as “an education and a step-by-step guide for adults to engage and practice sexual relationships with children,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
He denied ever having sexual contact with children, but admitted he used his computer to access child pornography sites and to download child pornography images and videos and that neighborhood children came over to play in his backyard and in his basement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
If the judge accepts a plea agreement, Dupont faces a sentence of seven years and up to 15 years in prison followed by seven years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.