Raphael Santana Sentenced: Will Face Minimum of 7.5 Years for Child Pornography

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — On October 31, 2022, Raphael Santana was sentenced to a minimum of seven-and-a-half to 15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison as a result of 2020 arrest for possession of a significant quantity of child abuse sex images.

Santana was arrested following a two-month long investigation after a person that knew Santana alerted the Claremont Police Department that he was in possession of child sex abuse images. When the Claremont police originally questioned Santana in regard to the images, he claimed to be, “curious and planned on deleting them.” After police confiscated Santana’s phone, they discovered 15,000 images and videos, which primarily featured victims under the age of 16.

Santana was present in the courtroom on Monday when the state offered their recommendation to the court. County Attorney Christine Hilibrand stated that, while they did not decide to go with the pre-sentencing investigation recommendation of a 15-year minimum, it was important to note the serious amount of indirect harm that Santana has caused. The state also determined that cases of this nature, specifically possession, do not tend to revolve around the 15-year minimum mark unless there are exacerbating circumstances such as distribution or manufacturing.

“Possession of child sex abuse images is an incredibly serious crime. It has an incredibly far- and wide-reaching impact. This case is a prime example of that,” said Hilibrand.

Hilibrand also outlined the report the state received after sending the contents of Santana’s phone to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to Hilibrand, the NCMEC has a running log of these types of images from which they are able to identify, and report back, what they have found in Santana’s possession. Of the 11,000 images taken from Santana’s phone, NCMEC identified 2,377 that were known children. They also determined that Santana was in possession of 203 series, which is a series of photographs of the same child, or children, taken around the same time. Often these series are so commonly seen by NCMEC that they are labeled. The photos in Santana’s possession have countries of origin ranging from, but not limited to, Russia, United States, Denmark, Australia, and Brazil among others.

Referencing the series of photographs, and the period of time in which NCMEC has been aware of these images, was important to Hilibrand, as it highlights the harm that has been done to the children in the photos lasts forever. She also argued that Santana indirectly harmed thousands of children as a result of his crime. The state asked Superior Court Justice Martin Honigberg to consider their proposed sentence, as it would provide an opportunity for rehabilitation, but also put Santana in the position of serving a significant amount of prison time.

Defense Attorney Lisa Wellman-Ally argued that Santana has no criminal record and a support system from his family and fiancé. She stated that a more appropriate sentencing would be in the range of three-and-a-half to seven years of time served, with concurrent sentences of seven-and-a-half to 15 years suspended with the expectation of good behavior. Wellman-Ally believes that this shorter sentence would still offer Santana the opportunity of rehabilitation with the larger punishment hanging over his head acting as a deterrent.

Hilibrand pointed out that the state finds a large number of these types of cases where the defendant doesn’t have a criminal record due to the increased anonymity inherent to the nature of the crime. She also stated that Santana would have the deterrent of parole when he is released.

Honigberg, who went with the state’s recommendation, also afforded Santana the ability to shorten his sentence by one full year, should he complete a sex offender rehabilitation training program offered by the state prison.

“You have some work to do and now you have some time to do it. I wish you luck in that regard,” Honigberg told Santana in his closing statements.