Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned a 23-count superseding indictment charging James Paul Summers, 28, of Niagara Falls, with nine counts of production of child pornography, three counts of transportation of child pornography, and 11 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; each count of transportation of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years; and each count of possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Summers admitted to taking pornographic images of two prepubescent female children. Some of those images appear 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 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 is the culmination of an investigation on the part of 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 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.