File Photo
Palmer, “a serial predator and registered sex offender, received a well-deserved, lengthy term of imprisonment for his efforts to convince a young child to engage in sexual acts by texting him thousands of obscene messages and photographs,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Kasulis.
By Forum Staff
A Maspeth man has been sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment following the defendant’s guilty plea in April 2021 to coercion and enticement of a child to engage in illegal sexual conduct and distribution of child pornography, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
As part of his sentence, Richard Palmer, 40, must also serve five years’ supervised release following his imprisonment, during which time he must remain registered as a sex offender and have no unsupervised or unapproved contact with minors.
Courtesy of the State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Richard Palmer’s sex offender details page
According to court filings, in September 2019, an adult woman contacted the FBI and reported that Palmer had sent her unsolicited emails containing child pornography. Law enforcement subsequently conducted searches of Palmer’s residence in Maspeth and his electronic devices. The searches revealed that Palmer had also sent thousands of text messages, including explicit and obscene photographs, to an 11-year-old child in an effort to convince that child to engage in sexual acts with him. At the time, Palmer was a registered sex offender who had been convicted in 2010 in Queens of attempted promotion of a sexual performance by a child.
“Today, the defendant, a serial predator and registered sex offender, received a well-deserved, lengthy term of imprisonment for his efforts to convince a young child to engage in sexual acts by texting him thousands of obscene messages and photographs,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis. “Protecting vulnerable, underage children from sexual exploitation will always be a high priority of this Office.”
