Security News: Veterans Affairs Medical Center Employee Indicted on Child Pornography Offenses

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Royalston man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Springfield on child pornography charges.

Kevin A. Divoll, 51, was indicted on one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Divoll was previously arrested and charged on Aug. 4, 2022.

According to the charging documents, investigators identified Divoll, an employee at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Leeds, as the owner and user of a device allegedly distributing or attempting to distribute child pornography over the Medical Center’s public Wi-Fi from May 2022 through July 2022. The indictment further alleges that, following a search of his residence on Aug. 4, 2022, Divoll possessed child pornography that involved a prepubescent minor and a minor who had not attained 12 years of age. 

The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography involving an image of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael Rollins and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, made the announcement. Significant assistance was provided by the Leeds VA Medical Center Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine G. Curley of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.