Horseheads Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Justin Channell, 23, of Horseheads, New York, pleaded guilty to knowingly possessing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that Channell used his Internet-connected computer to obtain hundreds of images and videos of child pornography that included prepubescent minor victims.

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 plea is the result of an investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Kollmar.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 12, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Siragusa. Channell was taken into custody pending sentencing.