CT sex offender charged with possessing child pornography: state police

A Harwinton man who registered as a sex offender after previously being found with child pornography was arrested Wednesday after investigators say he allegedly again possessed child pornography, police said.

William P. Pirotta, 32, was taken into custody by Connecticut State Police at his home on one count of third-degree possession of child pornography, police said. He was released on $50,000 bond and is expected to be arraigned at Superior Court in Torrington on Aug. 11, according to state police.

According to state police, the Harwinton Resident Troopers’ Office was contacted by a Winsted police detective who was investigating a tip received from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about a digital image identified as child pornography. The Winsted detective had allegedly traced the image to an IP address linked to Pirotta in Harwinton, state police said.

At the time, Pirotta – who is a registered sex offender – was being supervised by the Connecticut Office of Adult Probation.

On April 19, probation officers conducted a home visit with Pirotta with the assistance of Winsted police, the Harwinton resident trooper and members of the State Police Computer Crimes Unit. Authorities seized multiple electronic devices that were later examined by the Office of Adult Probation and the state Forensic Science Laboratory, police said.

Investigators allegedly discovered 11 digital images of child pornography on the devices and sought a warrant for Pirotta’s arrest, police said. The warrant was signed by a judge on Monday.

According to the state’s Sex Offender Registry, Pirotta was convicted in 2014 of promoting a minor in an obscene performance after he was found in possession of “one complete video and six partial videos of child pornography.”