FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Bridgeport, CT) - Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Bridgeport, announced today that a Superior Court jury convicted Bridgeport resident Paul Sykes, age 54, of Possession of Child Pornography in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statues §53a-196d.
The six-person jury deliberated less than half a day before returning a guilty verdict. The State was represented by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Lockshier with the assistance of Supervisory Inspector Richard Lindberg, who called six witnesses including personnel from the Connecticut State Police, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the Internet Crimes Against Children Forensic Laboratory.
Sykes, a computer repairman, was found guilty of possessing more than 50 images of child pornography. The NCMEC representative testified that at least 12 of those children were positively identified.
“The jury worked through difficult and shocking evidence to reach an appropriate verdict,” said Lockshier.
State’s Attorney Corradino praised Lockshier and the various law enforcement agencies who cooperated to bring this case to a conclusion. “Ms. Lockshier, the witnesses, and the jurors are to be commended for dealing with such traumatizing material with professionalism and dispassionate attention to a very unpleasant task,” he said.
Sykes, who is presently serving the eight-year balance of a 20-year sentence for violating his prior probation on previous Possession of Child Pornography and Sexual Assault on a Child charges, faces an additional 20 years consecutive to that sentence when he is sentenced by the Honorable Earl B. Richards III on July 24, 2024.