Plainville Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Child Pornography Conviction

A Plainville man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for a March conviction that he had been involved in the manufacturing of child pornography.

Jonathan Michael Zahra, 27, was sentenced Monday during a hearing in the U.S. District Court in Hartford and also given 10 years of supervised release. Zahra had entered a guilty plea to the charge March 24, according to court documents.

The conviction was obtained after an investigation into a tip received by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Office in Boston in March 2009, court documents said.

“Working with ICE HSI and many other investigative partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting children from sexual exploitation and removing sexual predators from the community,” said U.S. Attorney David Fein.

Zahra had been working as a technology assistant at Plainville Middle School in 2009 when investigators received reports that “he may be involved in possibly grooming minors and having engaged in sexual contact with minors.”

He was also a member of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program in Plainville, according to court records.

The Plainville Police Department was able to obtain a search warrant, seizing computers and media that showed photographs of a minor that was recorded taking part in sexual acts within Zahra’s home, court documents said.

The pictures had been taken in 2008, according to Tom Carson, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Connecticut.

The prosecution was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative and “Operation Constant Vigilance.”

“If you exploit children, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for your actions,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of the Boston office. “This sentence serves as a warning that ICE and its federal, state and local partners in law enforcement will remain relentless in identifying, investigating and arresting these individuals for their crimes.”