Rochester Man Charged in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—Robert Jason Fain, 51,of Rochester, New York, was charged with distributing child pornography, United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. of the Western District of New York announced today. Distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, stated that the criminal complaint alleged that on March 25, 2011, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) advised the FBI that RIT had learned that the defendant, who is employed at RIT, was utilizing RIT’s Internet connection to distribute images of child pornography. It is alleged that an undercover officer was chatting with the defendant about sex with underage females and the defendant discussed his sexual interest in children. During this chat and numerous others, it is alleged that the defendant sent the undercover officer several dozen images of child pornography. Further, it is alleged that an examination of the defendant’s e-mail account at Yahoo.com revealed that the defendant was trading child pornography with other individuals over the Internet. The criminal complaint further alleges that a search of the defendant’s home was conducted on August 24, 2011, and the defendant admitted to distributing child pornography files on 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 criminal complaint was the culmination of an investigation on the part of the agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Task Force, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent in Charge. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.