NORTHAMPTON — A 30-year-old man serving a prison sentence in Oregon for child pornography offenses is facing similar charges in Hampshire County.

Blake Lassiter appeared before Judge Jane Mulqueen in Hampshire Superior Court last Friday. He faces 11 charges involving dissemination and possession of child pornography.

Lassiter was indicted by a Hampshire County grand jury earlier this year following an investigation by the Amherst Police Department sparked by a tip sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by an internet service provider, according to court documents. The alleged offense dates span from Dec. 26, 2021, to March 24, 2022.

Court documents state that Lassiter left Oregon while he was under investigation for similar offenses and stayed for a time in the Amherst apartment complex where his mother lived. During that time, he allegedly used a Reddit account to upload and disseminate pornographic images of children to another Reddit user.

The images reported in the cybertip involved girls estimated to be 6-12 years old, according to court documents.

Lassiter has pleaded guilty to the Oregon charges and is serving a 24-month sentence at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon.

In the Oregon case, authorities allegedly seized multiple digital media devices containing more than 17,000 files of child sexual material.

Rhode Island authorities investigated Lassiter for possible child porn offenses in 2016 while he was stationed there as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, court documents state. The investigation, prompted by a tip, did not result in any charges.

At Friday’s hearing, the court set a pre-trial hearing date of Aug. 21 and a tentative trial date of Dec. 4 if the case is not resolved before then.

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