Man Indicted for Producing Child Pornography

BUFFALO, NY—United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today the return of a 12-count indictment charging James Paul Summers, 28, of Niagara Falls, New York, with two counts of Production of Child Pornography, and 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography. Each count of Production of Child Pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, and each count of Possession of Child Pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

The Indictment follows a criminal complaint filed previously in federal district court. That complaint accused Summers, among other conduct, of taking pornographic images of two prepubescent female children. Some of those images were alleged to have been taken in his apartment on Pierce Avenue in Niagara Falls and others were taken in a car in Niagara Falls.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Indictment was the culmination of a joint investigation conducted by the Niagara County Sheriff's Department, under the direction of James Voutour, Sheriff; the Niagara County District Attorney's Office, under the direction of Michael J. Violante, District Attorney; Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent In Charge; the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory. The evidence was presented to the Grand Jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who will handle the trial of the case.

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.