Brighton Man Charged In Child Pornography Case

CONTACT:       Barbara Burns
PHONE:          (716) 843-5817
FAX:             (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Joseph Lamica, 25, of Brighton, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with attempted production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a fine of $250,000.

“Thanks to a parent’s willingness to inquire further into conduct which seemed questionable, this case was brought to a rapid conclusion,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The case further serves as a reminder of how important it is for parents to exercise caution when entrusting their children to strangers.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Lamica was a babysitter who advertised his services on Care.com and Craigslist.com. A family the defendant was working for discovered that Lamica was engaging in inappropriate behavior with nine-year-old son and terminated the babysitting contract. Thereafter, the defendant attempted to approach the boy at school.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant and searched Lamica’s residence. Deputies found materials and notebooks with writings expressing the defendant’s interest in young boys. Another search warrant was obtained for Lamica’s digital media hardware which contained images of child pornography, and a video of another minor the defendant babysat in 2014.

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 on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.

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.