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Press Release

Palmyra Man Arrested; Charged with Distributing Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
 

ROCHESTER, N.Y.  U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Noah R. Scribner, 22, of Palmyra, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the New York State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an online child pornography investigation in December 2013. During that case, they learned that child pornography had been uploaded to a Google cloud drive account. Investigators linked that activity to the defendant, and traced his physical location to his residence in Palmyra where a search warrant was executed and numerous digital items were seized. Sexually explicit images and movies were found on several of these items, including a laptop computer and iPod.

The defendant made an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Marian W. Payson. Scribner is due back in court on December 4, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. before Magistrate Payson.

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 is the culmination of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott crosier and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Updated November 19, 2014