An Albany man, Brian Hargraves, pleaded guilty on May 12 to possession of and access with intent to view child pornography as well as obstruction of justice, according to U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan. Prosecutors said Hargraves, 55, posed online as a teenage boy in order to obtain child sexual abuse material from a minor victim. After law enforcement searched his home and seized his devices, he contacted the victim and asked her not to testify against him.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by federal authorities to protect minors from online exploitation. Law enforcement arrested Hargraves in May 2025; he has been detained since then. Officials reported that on April 29, 2025, police reviewed one of Hargraves’ mobile phones after receiving a citizen complaint and found sexually explicit images and videos involving a sixteen-year-old girl. Evidence also showed that Hargraves communicated with other minors while pretending to be a teenager.
“Brian Hargraves used the internet to take advantage of vulnerable minors,” U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners, his predatory and deceptive conduct was stopped and he will serve a significant prison sentence.”
Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division said: “Brian Hargraves posed as a teenage boy to manipulate an underage girl into sharing explicit images of herself and then tried to get her to obstruct our investigation. No child should have to endure this kind of abuse. The FBI is gratified to bring him to justice and is working aggressively every day to put predators like this behind bars. We’re determined to prevent them from creating any more victims and doing any more harm.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and Conway Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Vicinanzo is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation by coordinating resources across federal, state, and local agencies for both apprehending offenders and rescuing victims.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire enhances community well-being by enforcing federal laws; it functions under direction from the United States Attorney General; handles prosecutions for federal crimes along with civil cases involving government interests; serves New Hampshire through court representation; builds alliances among law enforcement entities; operates as a federal law enforcement entity itself; manages lawsuits against or debts owed by individuals or organizations on behalf of the United States government—according to its official website.
