A cyber-tip from a national watchdog program that searches for missing or exploited children led to the arrest of a 62-year-old Allenstown man earlier this month, Allenstown Police Chief Michael Stark said Friday in a press release.
The suspect, Gary Gagnon, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, a Class A felony.
The press release noted that several agencies worked in concert to complete an investigation that began six months ago. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off local police about the possible online possession of child sexual abuse material in Allenstown.
Also, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) was created by the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, and, according to the press release, “the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with underaged victims.”
The ICAC was assisted in the investigation by the police departments from Pembroke, Concord and Amherst. Stark also mentioned that computer forensic experts discovered hundreds of images and the K9s successfully sniffed out electronic storage devices.
The investigation began in March, after the cyber-tip to Stark. Search warrants for Gagnon’s home were issued and the arrest was made.
Information on the timeline and the procedure that led police to Gagnon were not included in the release. Stark was unavailable to comment.