Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography

BUFFALO, NY—WAYNE  RICHARD APOTOSKY, 38, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty on May 19, 2009 before U.S. Chief Judge Richard J. Arcara, to two felony possession of child pornography charges Acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter of the Western District of New York announced today.  Possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles B. Wydysh who handled the case, stated that Apotosky  used a credit card to purchase access to an internet website that sold child pornography.  On June 6, 2007, Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at the residence of the defendant, and seized four computers and several computer disks.  Subsequent examination of the computer and disks by the Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory disclosed the presence of 300 image files and 10 video files of child pornography.

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 .

The plea 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.

Sentencing is scheduled for September 4, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. in Buffalo, New York, in front of U.S. Chief Judge Richard J. Arcara.