Former Waltham Police Officer Sentenced on Child Porn Charges

A former Waltham Police officer was sentenced to five years in federal prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to child pornography charges in May, according to the state U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Paul Manganelli, 48, of Waltham, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV. After prison, Manganelli will be under supervised release for five years and must register as a sex offender, according to authorities.

Manganelli traded child porn via email from December 2011 to March 2013, authorities said. He resigned from the Waltham Police Department after his arrest in March 2013.

At the time of his arrest, federal agents found Manganelli in possession of over 850 images and 40 videos containing child pornography with girls between 6 and 10 years old, authorities said.

He traded the material with at least 53 email accounts, authorities said. During these email exchanges, Manganelli discussed his sexual interest in children, claimed he molested a prepubescent girl and asked others how to groom a child to engage in sexual activity with him, according to authorities.

Manganelli initially claimed that he was attempting to identify online sexual predators. However, he was never assigned nor authorized by the Waltham Police Department to conduct such purported investigations, nor did he ever report any criminal conduct he observed, authorities said.

Former Waltham Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Porn