WORCESTER — A Fitchburg man pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester on Sept. 29, 2026, to distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through his Kik account.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Sean Pettigrew, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Guzman scheduled Pettigrew’s sentencing for Jan. 21, 2027. He was arrested and charged in July 2025.
Federal prosecutors say Pettigrew was identified in April 2025 as a member of a Kik Messenger group devoted to the sexual abuse of children. Pettigrew sent multiple images depicting child sexual abuse material in private messages to an undercover agent who was posing as a member of the chat.
A subsequent search of Pettigrew’s Kik account revealed that he had also sent multiple files containing child sexual abuse material to other users on the app, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The distribution of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The possession of child pornography charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jeff Grimming, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, announced the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Danial E. Bennett of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
