Hornell Man Pleads Guilty in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that John Richard Wade, 35, of Hornell, New York, pleaded guilty to two counts of the knowing possession of child pornography before United States Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. The plea must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant admitted to downloading and sharing child pornography using file-sharing software and to possessing child pornography on two hard drives while residing in the Western District of New York in August 2009. Wade also admitted that the images included sexually explicit depictions of minors under 12 years of age.

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 special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.

Sentencing will be scheduled before Judge Larimer.