A Groton man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material. Michael W. Landon, 39, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport, with an additional 15 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI began investigating Landon in March 2023 after discovering he was distributing child pornography on Wickr, a secure messaging service that uses end-to-end encryption for communications and file sharing. Investigators found that Landon was trading videos in a chat room focused on spy cameras and voyeurism. The shared videos included surreptitious recordings of a minor girl in private settings.
On April 4, 2023, authorities seized Landon’s iPhone. Forensic analysis uncovered a video showing Landon sexually assaulting a minor boy, along with other images and videos depicting child sexual abuse. The device also contained messages sent through Telegram linking to collections labeled as “CP (‘child pornography’) And Rape Mega Drive Collection” and “Forced Teen Sex.”
Landon has been held since his arrest on related state charges on June 28, 2023. He pleaded guilty in federal court on April 8, 2025, to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography. State charges remain pending.
The investigation involved the FBI and the Town of Groton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean P. Mahard and Nancy V. Gifford prosecuted the case as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which works to protect children from sexual exploitation (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
“U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the New London State Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
To report cases of child exploitation, visit https://www.cybertipline.com.
