Dansville Man Indicted for Possessing Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—A Federal Grand Jury in Rochester has returned a one count Indictment charging GERALD R. CHAMBERLIN, 36, of Dansville, New York, with Possessing Child Pornography, U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter of the Western District of New York announced today. Possession of Child Pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who presented the evidence to the Grand Jury, stated that the Indictment charges the defendant with possessing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his computer.

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 Indictment was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.

The defendant will be arraigned before the Honorable Marion W. Payson in United States Magistrate Court.

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.