According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island, a Cranston man was sentenced last week to 24 years in federal prison for producing and possessing sexually explicit images and videos, including images and videos that he produced while victimizing a seven-year-old girl who had been left in his care.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced the sentencing in an Aug. 15 press release.

Gregory Phillips, 42, of Cranston, pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, to charges of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

He was sentenced Aug. 15 by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy to 288 months of incarceration to be followed by 10 years of federal supervised release.

According to Cunha’s office, “Phillips previously admitted to the court that, on multiple occasions beginning in late 2021, he produced child pornography and molested a young girl left in his care.

Court documents detail that, over a nine-month period of time, Phillips produced 61 images and four videos of child pornography while abusing his victim.”

“It is hard to overstate the repugnance of this defendant’s conduct - not only did he betray the trust placed in him by sexually assaulting a young victim in his care, but he chose to memorialize that abuse for his own revolting gratification,” Cunha said. “Today, thanks to exceptional investigative work by Homeland Security, the Rhode Island State Police, and the Cranston Police Department, he faces a sentence that he has richly earned.”

According to prosecutors, Philips first came to the attention of law enforcement when members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force reviewed a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that an individual in Rhode Island had possessed and transferred child pornography. Further investigation by the ICAC Task Force and a Cranston Police Detective determined that the images and videos were being transferred from an account linked to Philips’s phone number.

A forensic review of images and videos located on cellphones seized from Philips by law enforcement resulted in the discovery of the images created by Phillips in the course of his abuse, as well as additional child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Lee H. Vilker prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the ICAC Task Force, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.

Cunha also extended his thanks to the Cranston Police Department for its support and assistance in this matter.

“The Cranston Police Department is fortunate to have a detective assigned full-time to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,” Cranston Police posted on social media. “This partnership has led to the apprehension of individuals exploiting the most vulnerable residents in Cranston and our state. This case is yet another example of the important work the task force does every day!”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.­