PORTLAND — A Lewiston man faces federal prosecution after being swept up in a child pornography sting conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Marcel Bernard, 63, is charged with felony possession of child pornography.

He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday at U.S. District Court, and is free on personal recognizance. If convicted, Bernard would face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison because he has a prior conviction in state court for sexual abuse of a minor, court records show.

In 2009, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiated an undercover operation targeting customers of the Insider Video Club, which is described in court documents as a known commercial distributor of child erotica and child pornography. Postal Inspector Scott Kelley provided some details about that undercover operation in an affidavit he filed in support of the charge against Bernard.

“As part of the operation, USPIS mailed flyers from a fictitious company offering catalogs of child pornography movies,” Kelley wrote. “If a target responded to the flyer, the USPIS mailed the requested catalogs of available child pornography movies and an order form to the target.”

According to the affidavit, Bernard was a customer of the Insider Video Club, and investigators sent him one of the phony flyers in May 2009. About a week later, Bernard sent back a form requesting two catalogs, Kelley alleges.

Kelley and Lewiston police officer Scot Bradeen interviewed Bernard at his home on Feb. 3, 2010.

Bernard allegedly admitted to requesting the catalogs, and also to purchasing about 20 VHS tapes and DVDs from the Insider Video Club. Kelley said Bernard told him the tapes he owned showed children playing in the nude, not having sex, and they were not “hard-core” tapes.

According to the affidavit, Bernard consented to a search of his home. Among the items seized were numerous VHS tapes, four Super 8 reels and photographs of nude children. Kelley said he had the Super 8 reels converted to DVD format, and they clearly showed minors engaged in sex acts.

“Bernard stated his belief that his involvement in this child pornography was the result of a plot by a previous juvenile victim of a sex-related crime for which Bernard had been convicted in Maine state court,” Kelley wrote.

It’s not clear how many other people may have been charged with crimes in connection with the undercover operation. A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not respond to calls for comment Wednesday. 

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
tmaxwell@pressherald.com

 

Copy the Story Link