A 60-year-old Attleboro man who already served time in federal prison for the same crime has pleaded guilty again, this time to possessing more than 1,500 files consistent with child sexual abuse material that investigators say they pulled from his home computer. Gerard R. Proulx Jr. entered his plea in federal court in Boston to one count of possession of child pornography, admitting to conduct that began when investigators traced illegal files back to an IP address registered in his name.
According to turnto10.com, investigators downloaded multiple files containing child sexual abuse material from that IP address in 2025, which eventually led them to search Proulx's home on Feb. 25, 2026. During that search, investigators recovered several electronic devices, including a desktop computer, the outlet reported. Prosecutors said an initial forensic examination of the computer turned up more than 1,500 files consistent with child sexual abuse material, per the same report.
A Repeat Offender Facing Years Behind Bars
Proulx was arrested and charged in February 2026 and has remained detained since then, according to the station's report. This is not his first brush with this exact charge: he was previously convicted of possessing child pornography in federal court in Rhode Island and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2012, the article notes. The U.S. Attorney's Office, in a statement reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Massachusetts, confirmed that Proulx previously served 30 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography before pleading guilty again.
Because of that prior conviction, the evidence indicates Proulx now faces a far steeper sentence than before: 10 to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and five years to life of supervised release, per turnto10.com's reporting. Proulx is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 7, 2027.
The Statute Behind the Charge
The charge against Proulx falls under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A, the federal statute covering certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Separately, the federal code governing supervised release states that the term for offenses like this one can run for any term of years not less than five, or life, according to the same publishing office's text of 18 U.S.C. § 3583. The evidence reviewed does not independently establish how every statutory provision applies specifically to Proulx's case.
