A 38-year-old Adams man will spend nearly three decades in federal prison after admitting to sexually exploiting a child, federal prosecutors say.
On Monday, March 9, 2026, Brian Warner of Adams was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison and ordered to serve seven years of supervised release for sexual exploitation of a child. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni imposed the sentence after Warner pleaded guilty in federal court last year. Prosecutors say Warner coerced a minor into producing sexually explicit material.
Federal sentence and court orders
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston said Warner’s sentence will be followed by a restitution hearing on June 11, 2026, and credited Homeland Security Investigations with assisting the probe, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts. The announcement identified Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Merck of the Springfield office as the prosecutor and noted that Warner has remained in federal custody since his arrest.
What prosecutors say about the abuse
According to prosecutors, the abuse took place between July and December 2016, when Warner convinced a minor to engage in conduct that produced child sexual abuse material, according to Franklin County Now. Investigators later seized multiple electronic devices, and searches of those devices reportedly uncovered hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material, as reported by Boston 25.
Plea and legal background
Warner pleaded guilty on Nov. 4, 2025, to one count of sexual exploitation of a child, a charge that carries a statutory range including a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison. The plea capped a federal prosecution that followed an indictment and months of investigation and was pursued as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.
Local filings and earlier reporting
State-level filings and local reporting show the case has been years in the making. Earlier coverage noted Warner had faced 51 counts in prior state proceedings and that bail and dangerousness hearings drew public attention. Western Mass News also covered the federal sentencing and reported that Warner has been in custody since his May 2024 arrest, underscoring how state and federal cases intersected in this matter.
What comes next
With the prison term now imposed, the June restitution hearing will determine any financial awards to victims. Warner’s seven-year term of supervised release will begin only after he serves the full federal prison sentence. Prosecutors have described the case as part of a broader effort to target individuals who produce and distribute child sexual abuse material.
