Joshua Lundberg, twice convicted of child porn, seeks release 4 years early because of COVID-19

WORCESTER - Joshua E. Lundberg, a former tennis instructor serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for his second conviction on child pornography, is seeking to serve the last 4 years from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In court documents, Lundberg's attorney asks he be allowed to go on house arrest at his parents' home in Northboro because he has severe asthma and autism.

"He poses no harm to others," attorney Paul V. Kelly wrote of Lundberg, who admitted to sharing dozens of files, including those depicting the rapes of children as young as toddlers.

In an 18-page opposition filed May 11, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Grady argued forcefully against release, listing the depraved titles of files that Lundberg shared – including videos in which young children cried out in pain while being raped.

"Lundberg remains a danger to the community and children," Grady wrote, noting that aside from increasing the demand for such videos by sharing them, Lundberg was found with a toddler-size doll in his room during his first arrest, and admitted to exposing himself to a 20-month-old child.

Grady noted that Lundberg's motion makes no mention of either of those facts. He also criticized an argument in the motion that Lundberg's crimes were not the "heinous" type of sex crimes that warrant incarceration during COVID-19.

"His attempts to minimize his conduct by arguing that the possession of child pornography is merely 'offensive and objectionable,' not a 'heinous' sex offense, only highlight the risk that this defendant poses to the community," Grady wrote.

Grady also attacked Lundberg's assertion that he would stay on the straight and narrow with a new treatment plan while at his parents' home. He noted that at the time of his second offense, Lundberg was sharing pornography from their home using a computer he'd stashed above the kitchen cabinets, while on probation from his first child porn arrest, after which he'd served just 60 days in jail.

Grady noted that Lundberg's mother had told the court at his first sentencing that her son had no access to a computer – the same condition likely to be imposed on him should he be allowed to spend the next 4 years at home. She had also told the judge her son expressed remorse for his crime.

"This has all happened before," Grady said of giving Lundberg the benefit of the doubt, adding that no different result should be expected.

Lundberg's attorneys have argued that his mental disorder went misdiagnosed until his second arrest, and was thus not properly treated. They have noted that prosecutors in some districts have significantly lessened charges against autistic child porn defendants as a result of research indicating they do not, like other offenders, understand what they are doing is wrong or have a sexual interest in children.

Grady noted in his motion that Lundberg already received a break in his current sentence. The government, in part as a result of arguments that Lundberg's crime was related to his autism, did not charge him with a count that could have resulted in him receiving 5 more years in jail.

In return, Grady said, Lundberg's plea deal specifically bars him from requesting the kind of release he now seeks.

Grady also noted that while the Pennsylvania prison where Lundberg is housed currently has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, Northboro has 150 cases.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman is set to hold a hearing May 20 on Lundberg's motion.

___

(c)2020 Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.

Visit Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass. at www.telegram.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.