Rochester Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Douglas Bedient, 45, of Rochester, N.Y., was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distributing and possessing child pornography. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that according to the Complaint, the defendant exchanged and distributed images and videos of child pornography with others online.

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 Complaint 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 Christopher M. Piehota.

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.