Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Slater pointed out that Hesketh's actions lasted for at least five years.
She reminded the judge that more than 2,000 images and video files were found on a laptop Hesketh used and a thumb drive he carried with him so he could engage in his conduct while away from home.
The images and chats were horrific.
Alan Hesketh's confession was tearful.
And his lawyer's argument convincing.
In the end, Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton Friday sentenced Hesketh, 61, an English citizen who lives in Stonington, to 6 1/2 years in prison for possessing and distributing images showing children, including infants, engaged in sexual acts. It is expected he will be deported following his release from prison.
"I don't think he's going to repeat this conduct," Eginton said. "He needs psychiatric and psychological assistance ... He's a 61-year old man with virtually no opportunity to resume his professional career. He's going to lose his wife."
The judge postponed imposing a fine or restitution for at least three months to give time for any of the 24 children identified in some of the 2,000 images to file claims. A young woman, identified as one of the children, was in court Friday but did not speak.
Hesketh, as well as his four children, all addressed the judge.
In a lengthy, tearful statement, Hesketh told the judge "I'm ashamed and embarrassed to be sitting here today. But I make no excuse for what I've done."
Hesketh, who holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Liverpool University and, until his March 26 arrest, worked as the vice president of worldwide patents at Pfizer Inc., in New London, said he never abused any children.
"This was a fantasy world I went into," he said, pausing frequently to wipe tears from his eyes and catch his breath. "To me this was just a collection of pictures to trade and were not connected to children in the real world.
Hesketh, who has five grandchildren, continued: "I could never do anything like that to a real child. I never have been a danger to children and never will be."
He told the judge the arrest and publicity surrounding his crime have cost him his career, his homes and his wife of 40 years.
Following his release, Hesketh said he wants to work for charitable groups to stop the spread of child pornography. "I want to talk and write about my experiences with others," he said.
Jonathan Einhorn, Hesketh's New Haven-based lawyer, also argued against the recommended 121 month (10-year, 1-month) minimum sentence.
He urged the judge to consider his client's "whole life" and cited a psycho-sociological evaluation done by Dr. Kathryn Salisbury, a member of Yale University's psychiatry department.
She said Hesketh "drifted into a world of cybersex and pornography as a way to relieve tension, seek sexual pleasure without the complications of a relationship and to find a means of expressing the growing reserves of anger and frustration that emanated from Mr. Hesketh's assessment of himself as never quite good enough sexually or otherwise."
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Slater pointed out that Hesketh's actions lasted for at least five years.
She reminded the judge that more than 2,000 images and video files were found on a laptop Hesketh used and a thumb drive he carried with him so he could engage in his conduct while away from home.
Investigators from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined that Hesketh accessed the Internet at home, at his Pfizer office in New London and at the Crown Plaza Tudor Hotel near the United Nations in New York.
Hesketh was arrested at JFK International Airport on March 26 as he prepared to leave on a trip to the United Kingdom. They had uncovered his illegal conduct during an investigation into Gregory Nadolski, a Buffalo, N.Y., man arrested for distributing child pornography.
In chats with Nadolski, Hesketh identified himself as a 28-year-old woman using the screen name of Suzybibaby and sent Nadolski a photo of a woman Hesketh claimed was him. They then traded nearly 1,000 images.
There were twenty-seven chat logs found on the CD, wherein "mrko9850" and "Suzybibaby" traded approximately 1067 images, most of which depicted prepubescent minors naked, lasciviously displaying their genitalia, or engaged in sexual contact with an adult. A review of the content of the chat logs revealed that "Suzibibaby" posted as a single, twenty-eight year old female with an interest in images of child pornography, more specifically human defecation on "babies" and the desire to pose as "a 5 yr old slut that you can rape, piss and shit on and drown." At various times within the twenty-seven chat logs, "mrko9850" and "Suzybibaby" discussed the sexual molestation and abuse of "babies." An example of this conversation occurred on September 4, 2006, when "mrko9850" asked "Suzybibaby" if she had a daughter "would she fuck her constantly?" Wherein "Suzybibaby" replied, "I would just use her and abuse her... pull her legs apart... cut her cunt bigger."
Another conversation between "mrko9850" and "Suzybibaby" that took place on April 12, 2007 between 7:30:39 and 7:52:00 am involved "mrko9850" inquiring of "Suzybibaby" as to whether she has "fucked a lot of babies in the past/." Wherein "Suzybibaby" replies, "a few...not many...oh I did once play with a 6 yr old I was babysitting, but thats more risky...." "mrko9850" then responds, "cuz they can tell their parents...always better to do babies."
One of the images sent by "Suzybibaby" during the chat conversation depicts an adult male's penis penetrating an infant girl's vagina.
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