Albany Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Distribution

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael G. Isaacson, age 33, of Albany, pled guilty today to distributing and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.

Isaacson faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of between 5 years and life, when he is sentenced on July 6, 2016 by U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.  Isaacson will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

As part of his plea, Isaacson admitted that he distributed child pornography files over the Internet to a Colonie Police Department Investigator.  He also admitted to possessing more than 1,000 image files, and more than 30 video files, depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit poses or conduct.  

This case was investigated by the Colonie Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albany Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.