A cell phone left behind on an MBTA train last year revealed an Everett man was once again handling child sexual abuse material. He now faces at least 15 years in prison, after pleading guilty to several charges in federal court, according to authorities.
Robert Sokolowski, 52, pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of child pornography; distribution of child pornography; and receipt of child pornography, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in New England.
This is Sokolowski’s third federal conviction for child sexual abuse material offenses, authorities said, and the second time he was caught committing the same offenses months after being released from prison.
This most recent case was revealed in September 2024, when Sokolowski lost his cell phone on the MBTA’s Green Line. In an effort to figure out whose phone it was, an employee looked at the phone’s contents and discovered hundreds of child sexual abuse images and videos, some including toddlers, authorities reported.
In 2005, Sokolowski was convicted in U.S. District Court for possession of child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. In 2015, only seven months after he was released from prison, he committed the offenses again, convicted in U.S. District Court for possession of child sexual abuse materials and sentenced to 150 months in prison, authorities said.
U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor scheduled sentencing for Dec. 17, according to the press release.
The charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison, with at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, authorities said.
The possession of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, with at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, authorities said.
Special assistance was provided by the MBTA Transit Police and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
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