Albany Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison after Posing as a Teenage Boy Online to Obtain Child Sexual Abuse Material from Multiple Minor Victims, and Obstructing Justice by[...]

CONCORD - Albany resident Brian Hargraves, 55, was sentenced today in federal court to 168 months in prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and for obstructing justice, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. United States District Judge Landya McCafferty also sentenced Hargraves to 10 years of supervised release following his prison term.

Hargraves pleaded guilty in May to posing as a teenage boy online in order to obtain CSAM from minors. On April 29, 2025, law enforcement seized and searched Hargraves' mobile phones following an investigation into his online communications with minors. A review of one of the phones revealed sexually explicit images and videos of a teenage minor victim. Hargraves told the minor victim that he was a teenage boy and asked her to create explicit videos and images of herself to send to him. The evidence revealed that Hargraves was also engaging in sexually explicit communications with other minors and was posing as a teenager in those communications as well. After his devices were seized and his home searched by the FBI, the defendant obstructed justice by contacting a minor victim and attempting to persuade her not to speak to law enforcement.

"The defendant exploited several children and sought to silence one of his victims," U.S. Attorney Creegan said. "Today's sentence serves as a warning to those who seek to abuse children-whether in-person or by using the internet. You will be found and you will be held accountable."

"Brian Hargraves didn't just prey on children-he deliberately hid behind the false persona of a teenage boy to manipulate and exploit them, and then tried to obstruct our investigation," said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. "His devious tactics show the lengths to which offenders will go to target minors, and this sentence sends a clear message: the FBI will aggressively pursue anyone who harms children to ensure they face significant consequences for their crimes."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Carroll County Sheriff's Department and the Conway Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Vicinanzo prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.