Derby Man Accused Of Accessing Child Pornography Sentenced To Prison: Feds

DERBY, CT — A Derby man accused of "accessing with intent to view child pornography" was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced in a news release Wednesday.

Michael Szwarc, 36, of Derby, was sentenced by a judge in Hartford to 134 months in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for a child exploitation offense and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction, according to Avery.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Szwarc was convicted of second-degree possession of child pornography in state court in 2013 and of receipt of child pornography in federal court in 2022.

In January 2024, while Szwarc was on federal supervised release, his probation officer conducted an unannounced visit to his home and discovered he had an unauthorized laptop in his possession.

The probation officer seized the laptop, a forensic examination of which "revealed multiple images of child pornography," according to Avery.

The investigation also revealed Szwarc had used the dark web to access websites used to traffic and distribute images and videos of child sexual abuse, Avery said.

Szwarc has been detained since his arrest in February. He pleaded guilty to accessing with intent to view child pornography on Aug. 13.

Szwarc was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment for the offense, and a consecutive 14 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release, according to Avery.

Avery also noted the "penalties in this matter were enhanced because of Szwarc's prior federal and state convictions for possessing child pornography."