Guilford Man Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography: Police

GUILFORD, CT — A 75-year-old Guilford man was arrested on June 5 and charged with second-degree possession of child pornography, according to police.

The CT Judicial Branch website shows that Richard Rooney was released on a $50,000 surety bond. He's scheduled to appear in court in New Haven on June 18.

Police said in an arrest warrant affidavit that several images and a video depicting child sex abuse material (CSAM) were found on Rooney's laptop following a search warrant and forensic analysis of his electronic devices in recent months.

Internet search terms also associated with CSAM were located on the laptop, the warrant noted.

On Sept. 3, 2024, Guilford Police detectives received a tip from the CT State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit that a user of an IP address, later determined to be located in Guilford, searched for an image on Aug. 25, 2024, that was labeled as child pornography, Guilford Police Det. Amy Peckham said in an arrest warrant.

The IP address was traced to Rooney, and on Sept. 26, a search warrant was executed at his home where officers seized a laptop, cell phone and a USB flash drive, the arrest warrant said.

Officers went to speak with Rooney at his place of work, and he provided passwords to his devices, the warrant said.

While getting the password to his laptop, Peckham noticed Rooney had a password saved for a Russian-hosted search engine known to be used by individuals interested in viewing child pornography, the warrant said.

Rooney told police he often viewed pornography through the search engine and other sites, and used search terms such as "young teens," which he described as 18-30-year-old females, the warrant said.

While searching for material, Rooney told police he would get "pop-ups" on his computer that depicted child pornography, according to the warrant.

During an interview later at Guilford Police Headquarters where officers "spoke at length" with Rooney about his online activity, he "acknowledged that he had seen the image which initiated this investigation," the warrant noted.

"Richard was asked how long he had been viewing child pornography online and he advised he could not provide an accurate timeframe," the warrant said. "Richard advised that he did not know viewing child pornography was illegal."

From October 2024 to March 2025, authorities conducted a forensic analysis of Rooney's electronic devices, the warrant detailed.

Nine images and a video depicting CSAM were found on Rooney's laptop, as well as various search terms associated with such material, the warrant said.

Additionally, 295 images and three videos were tagged as non-CSAM, the warrant said. Peckham reviewed the images and "observed that many of these images depict child erotica, however, there were numerous other images that also appear to depict CSAM," according to the warrant.

Rooney's online searches also showed that he visited live-streaming sites which advertised showing "nude preteen girls," the warrant noted.

The arrest warrant for Rooney was signed by a New Haven Superior Court judge on May 23.