Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—Michael D. Reilly, age 41, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty on January 6, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa, to a felony charge of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced today. The possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that in February 2007, the New York State Police responded to a report from a student attending the New York State Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, NY, regarding suspected child pornography. Reilly, who was attending the Chiropractic College, had lent another student a thumb drive containing class material. The student discovered that the thumb drive also contained suspected images of child pornography and reported it to the authorities.

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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Laurie Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, and the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force under the direction of Captain Frank Pace.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 8, 2009, in Rochester, NY, in front of U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.