Honeoye Falls Man Pleads Guilty in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Robert Avery, 54, of Honeoye Falls, New York, pleaded guilty to the knowing possession of child pornography before United States District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant admitted that in April 2009, he knowingly possessed at least one image of child pornography on a computer in his possession. In total, Avery admitted to possessing approximately 40 images, some of which depicted prepubescent children. The defendant further admitted that two of the images depicted scenes of bondage involving children. Avery also told law enforcement that he had traded pictures depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children over the Internet.

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 plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crime Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Kollmar. The task force includes the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn.

The sentence is scheduled for September 9, 2011 at 3:45 p.m. before Judge Siragusa.