Orleans Man Arrested For Possessing Child Porn Was A Registered Sex Offender, Among 21 On Lower Cape

ORLEANS – A 33-year old Orleans man is facing federal charges after he was allegedly found to be in possession of child pornography. The individual, Anthony Argo, is listed on the state’s sex offender registry for a conviction last year. Argo is among more than 20 people living in Chatham, Harwich, Orleans and Brewster who are listed on the registry for having been convicted of sex crimes.

Argo made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on July 9. Court documents indicate that Argo allegedly used a chat application to express sexual interest in minors and in sharing child pornography. Investigators searched his residence and allegedly found an SD card that contained more than 100 video files depicting child pornography. The files allegedly depicted children as young as infants.

According to the state’s sex offender registry database, Argo was previously convicted in Barnstable District Court for indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, and in Orleans District Court for kidnapping, enticement of a child under 16 and distributing obscene matter to a minor.

Because of those prior convictions, Argo would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, and at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release if he is convicted of possessing child pornography. He could also face a fine of up to $250,000.

The announcement about Argo’s arrest was made Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s office and the Department of Homeland Security. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, a Department of Justice news release reads.

The state’s sex offender registry was created in October 1996, making Massachusetts the last state in the nation to adopt a system to inform the public about people in their communities who have been convicted of sex crimes. State registries were a response to the rape and murder of a seven-year-old New Jersey girl, Megan Kanka, who inspired the federal registry legislation that became known as Megan’s Law.

Massachusetts classifies sex offenders on a three-level scale, based on the likeliness that they will offend again. Those deemed least likely to reoffend, Level 1 registrants, are not made public, but their information is available to law enforcement officials, the state’s Department of Youth Services, the Department of Children and Families, and state parole, probation and mental health officials. It is not publicly known how many Level 1 offenders live or work in a given community, but they are judged to represent a low public safety risk.

Level 2 offenders are judged to pose a moderate risk of committing other sex crimes, and their information is published in the online database at www.mass.gov/sorb. The public can search for offenders by name or by community and has access to the individuals’ home and work addresses and information about their previous convictions. As of a recent count, there were no Level 2 offenders in Brewster, one in Chatham, two in Orleans and six in Harwich.

Those judged to be most likely to reoffend are classified as Level 3, a designation that allows police to actively notify the community of their presence in town, sometimes by notifying schools, daycare centers and other groups that serve children. Some communities publish Level 3 offenders’ information on town websites; in the past, Lower Cape police departments issued news releases when Level 3 offenders were registered in their towns, but that practice has ceased.

In Brewster, the lone Level 3 offender is David Marshall, 66. There are two such offenders in Chatham: Kyle Cooper, 34, and Robert Adams, 59. In addition to Argo, Orleans has two Level 3 offenders: 42-year-old Adam Nathanial Frueh and 49-year-old Hector Ithier. Harwich has the most high-risk sex offenders, with five. They are Dustin Dutcher, 35; David Husband, 63; David Richards, 39; Frank Saragoza, 62; and Robert Sherlock, 53.

Individuals on the registry have completed their sentences and are not wanted for any crime. Further, state law makes it illegal to threaten or harass registrants, or to discriminate against them.