Shelton man convicted on child porn charge to go to jail, just not yet

But after a lawyer representing Richard Dore, 65, told Judge H. Gordon Hall that his client was suffering from cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and is currently receiving chemotherapy, the judge allowed Dore to post a $150,000 appeal bond to challenge the constitutionality of the crime he was convicted of.

The half-hour sentencing concluded a case that had been pending at state Superior Court for more than six years. Dore was arrested in March 2017 in connection to a raid by state police at his home the previous May.

While the charges were pending, Dore elected to waive his right to a jury trial and instead have his fate decided by a judge.

During a two-day trial in July, state police witnesses said they found hundreds of videos and pictures of suspected child porn on Dore’s computer during a May 2016 search of his home prompted by a detective’s search of file-sharing networks that led to a Shelton IP address traced to Dore.

A state police detective played the videos in question for the judge while on the stand and said Dore admitted to police while they searched his him that he downloaded child pornography.

Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Kalthoff deferred to the judge to fashion an appropriate sentence, saying he filed the second-degree charges against Dore prior to the trial, “mindful” of his lack of a criminal record and the fact that so much time had elapsed since his arrest.

“The state went forward with the most reasonable charges that it could under the laws that are available to the state,” he said.

At the same time, the prosecutor said, “This is the type of crime … that does merit serious attention. All of us who participated in this trial know how horrific it is to view this child sexual abuse material.”

Dore’s attorney, Gregory Cerritelli, told the judge his client is not a threat to society and is receiving chemotherapy following the removal of part of a kidney that didn’t stop cancer from metastasizing through his body.

“He’s never before appeared in court for any purpose at all whatsoever, other than this one unfortunate incident,” Cerritelli said, adding that his client is currently receiving chemotherapy and infusion therapy after having part of his kidney removed.

“Mr. Dore is a low risk. A low risk to the community and a low risk to re-offend,” he said, adding Dore downloaded the images “merely out of curiosity.”

The attorney also cited cases where defendants are convicted of sexually assaulting children and receive sentences lower than the two-year mandatory minimum faced by those like Dore.

“I think it really exposes an inherent unfairness in the system,” he said.

The judge said it was a sad case, noting that Dore had appeared to have led “a normal, quiet, and private life” prior to his arrest.

He referred to claims by Cerritelli at trial that the state had not proven the videos found on Dore’s computer depicted actual children. Following Dore’s conviction his lawyer said he would file an appeal because the child pornography law is too broad and vague to be enforced, citing a 2002 Supreme Court decision legalizing “virtual” child pornography.

“The court was satisfied based on the testimony and examination of the exhibits themselves that it did involve real children,” Hall said, referring to a victim impact statement provided by the victim depicted in video, now an adult woman, and the “malignant effects” the exploitation had on her life.

“She’s a real person,” the judge said. “These are real events and they’re serious. That is not to say that Mr. Dore committed the offenses of producing these materials.”

The judge then handed down a sentence of six years to be suspended after Dore serves two years behind bars, followed by 10 years of probation.