Man Sentenced in Child Pornography Case

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that David Lewis, Jr., 73, of Cheektowaga, New York, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to five years in prison and 10 years’ supervised release by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that the defendant possessed over 150 images of child pornography on computers in his home. Some of the children shown in the images were approximately 5 or 6 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 sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David J. Zack, and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent In Charge.