Mass. man sentenced for child exploitation images

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10)-- A Berkshire County judge sentenced a Williamstown man to two years in prison for contacting and receiving explicit photos from an 11-year-old online in 2021. Tom Nelson, 38, pleaded guilty to a second offense of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and more in court on Tuesday.

Charges

• Posing/exhibiting a child in the nude
• Posing/exhibiting a child in a sexual act
• Dissemination of matter harmful to minors, second offense

Nelson used Omegle, a former video chat website, to connect with an 11-year-old and used predatory tactics to receive graphic sexual content from the child. He was charged with his first offense in 2018 for similar behavior, just two years between his first and second assaults.

Nelson was also ordered to three years of probation with conditions of attending counseling for posing or exhibiting a child in the nude and posing/exhibiting a child in a sexual act. District Attorney Timothy Shugrue requested that the judge sentence Nelson to 10 years in prison since it was his second offense.

"Cases like this highlight the extreme risk that children face on apps and websites. Child predators take every opportunity on every platform to attack and sexually abuse and exploit children," Shugrue said. "We must protect our children. In today's society, a major piece of that protection is monitoring phone, tablet, and online technology usage."