Wayne County Father and Son Charged in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Edward Lewis, 68, and his son, Steven Lewis, 37, of Ontario, New York, were each charged by complaint with committing a felony involving child pornography. Edward Lewis was charged with the knowing receipt of child pornography and Steven Lewis was charged with the knowing receipt and distribution of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that the defendants were charged after a search warrant was executed at the residence they share on Knickerbocker Road by members of the New York State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit. According to the complaint, the search warrant occurred after the New York State investigator downloaded images of child pornography from the Internet Protocol address subscribed by Steven Lewis. The complaint also alleges that the defendants gave separate statements to investigators each admitting to having downloaded child pornography.

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 FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent in Charge; and the New York State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit, under the direction of Captain Frank Pace.

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.