New Bedford Man Sentenced for Child Pornography

BOSTON (WBSM) — A New Bedford man will serve more than seven years in federal prison for receiving and possessing over 1,500 files containing child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Robert David Austin, 43, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty in May 2023 to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorney, from June 2019 until November 2021, Austin engaged with a number of groups on messaging applications through which child pornography is disseminated. He also possessed child porn on two cell phones and a tablet when he was arrested in November 2021.

Get our free mobile app

“Approximately 1,252 images and 450 videos depicting child pornography were located across all three of the devices,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Overall, the child pornography files depicted victims as young as infants through approximately 12 years old, with some files depicting bondage and vaginal and oral penetration of the victims.”

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.