BANGOR, Maine — A man from Old Town was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison after having pleaded guilty last September to multiple child pornography-related charges.
Patrick Monahan, 52, pleaded guilty on Sept. 10, 2018, to charges of sexual exploitation of children and distribution and possession of child pornography.
In addition to the 35-year sentence, he was ordered a lifetime of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock.
According to court documents, Monahan posed online as a teenager and separately persuaded two minors to send him over the internet videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity.
He then, the documents show, uploaded some of these videos to a pornographic website that could be accessed by the general public.
Monahan also possessed child pornography on his computer, according to court documents.
In his sentencing order, Judge Woodcock identified Monahan as someone Congress had "in mind" when passing child pornography laws. Woodcock called Monahan "simply incorrigible."
"You cannot stop yourself," Woodcock said. "The only way you can stop is if society stops you. It is my duty to put you in a place where you can do no more harm, where you cannot create any more victims."
Federal, state and local law enforcement investigated the case, which was initially brought forward through the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.
