Pittsford Man Charged in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—Seles Varin, 53, of Pittsford, New York, was charged with the felony of knowing receipt of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter of the Western District of New York announced yesterday. Knowing receipt of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee stated that the defendant was charged after a search warrant was executed at Varin's residence on Clover Street in Pittsford by the FBI. The complaint alleges that Varin admitted to downloading images and movies of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct using the filesharing software Limewire. Both the FBI and Monroe County Sheriff's Office were investigating Varin as a result of his Limewire activity which involved sharing images and movies of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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 arrest was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Cory Nelson.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.