Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

BUFFALO—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that John Crandall, 33, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William M. Skretny, to distributing child pornography. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura K. O’Donnell, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant obtained child pornography from the Internet and other sources and distributed child pornography to at least one other individual between March 2010 and March 2011. In August, 2011, Crandall was found to be in possession of over 600 images of child pornography at his residence. Some of the images included children younger than 12 years of age and depictions of violence.

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 FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Christopher M. Piehota; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Zack; and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.