Retired Conn. scientist sentenced for child porn

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A retired Connecticut aeronautics researcher has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for arranging online sexual acts between children and adults in the Philippines.

Federal prosecutors said 68-year-old William Patrick of Glastonbury pleaded guilty in June to using the Internet to entice a minor into sex. He was sentenced Monday.

The Hartford Courant reports prosecutors said Patrick told an associate in an online conversation he could hold information over a "7-year-old's head and threaten to tell if she doesn't do what I want."

Patrick worked 38 years for United Technologies Corp. His lawyer said he became addicted to pornography after being forced to retire in 2006.

In 2008, the FBI found images of sexual abuse of girls on a computer traced to Patrick, and later found computer equipment containing child porn at his home.

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Information from: The Hartford Courant