David X. Sullivan, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations for New England, and Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw on Thursday announced that Rick Marro, 44, most recently residing in Stamford, was charged by indictment with child exploitation offenses.
As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, law enforcement began investigating Marro in August 2023 after a 16-year-old male victim reported that he had been sexually exploited by Marro. The victim reported that he met Marro on a dating application, and they then began communicating on Snapchat in April 2023. The victim indicated that they met in person at Marro’s house on multiple occasions, and two of the encounters were sexual in nature. The victim reported that Marro gave him “poppers,” that Marro was “into” asphyxiation, and, on one occasion, Marro strangled him and he passed out “for a minute or two.”
A law enforcement review of the victim’s Snapchat account showed that Marro sent him videos that Marro had recorded of them engaged in sexual activity. He also sent the victim a video depicting Marro choking him.
It is further alleged that law enforcement subsequently seized and searched Marro’s cell phone. During the examination of Marro’s phone, law enforcement located the same videos that he recorded and sent the victim showing them engaged in sexual activity. Investigators also located text messages that Marro had sent to another individual in which Marro stated that he “choked [the victim] all the way to unconscious today by accident.”
Marro was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 18, 2024. On October 15, 2025, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Marro with production of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years; receipt and distribution of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Marro was arraigned on November 6, 2025, and pleaded not guilty. He has been detained since his arrest, and a trial in this matter is scheduled for August 2026.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Stamford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com