Home Buffalo Press Releases 2010 Pittsford Man Charged in Child Pornography Case
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Pittsford Man Charged in Child Pornography Case

U.S. Attorney’s Office July 22, 2010
  • Western District of New York (716) 843-5700

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jeffrey Bernecky, 22, of Pittsford, New York, was charged with the knowing receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. The knowing receipt and distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. Knowing 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 is handling the case, stated that the defendant was charged after a search warrant was executed at Bernecky's residence on Lehigh Station Road in Pittsford by members of the FBI's Cyber Crime Task Force. The search warrant was obtained after undercover agents allegedly saw that the defendant appeared to be sharing and distributing over 6,000 files totaling over 107 gigabytes of data. That data included numerous files and videos with titles indicative of child pornography. Bernecky admitted to downloading images and movies of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct using the file-sharing software.

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 criminal complaint was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, which includes 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 James Robertson, Special Agent in Charge.

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.

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