Sex Offender Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offense, Violating Supervised Release

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL SZWARC, 36, of Derby, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 134 months of imprisonment, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for a child exploitation offense, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Szwarc was convicted in 2013 in state court of possession of child pornography in the second degree, and in 2022 in federal court of receipt of child pornography.

In January 2024, while Szwarc was on federal supervised release, his probation officer conducted an unannounced visit to his home and discovered that Szwarc was in possession of an unauthorized laptop. The probation officer seized the laptop. A forensic examination of the device revealed multiple images of child pornography, and the investigation revealed that Szwarc had used the dark web to access websites used to traffic and distribute images and videos of child sexual abuse.

On August 13, 2024, Szwarc pleaded guilty to accessing with intent to view child pornography. Judge Thompson sentenced Szwarc to 120 months of imprisonment for the offense, and a consecutive 14 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

The penalties in this matter were enhanced because of Szwarc's prior federal and state convictions for possessing child pornography.

Szwarc has been detained since his arrest on February 9, 2024.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.