Man Sentenced to 78 Months for Possessing Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—Michael D. Reilly, 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally of  Sumpter, South Carolina, was sentenced to 78 months in prison, a fine of $1000, and 30 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa, after pleading guilty in January 2009 to a felony charge of possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter of the Western District of New York announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that in February 2007, the New York State Police responded to a report from a student attending the New York State Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, New York, regarding suspected child pornography. Reilly, who was attending the Chiropractic College, had lent another student a thumb drive containing class material. The student discovered that the thumb drive also contained suspected images of child pornography and reported it to the authorities.    

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The sentence was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Laurie Bennett, Special Agent in Charge and the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force under the direction of Captain Frank Pace.