Buffalo Man Indicted on Production, Receipt, and Possession of Child Pornography Charges

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned a four-count indictment charging Paul F. Archambault, 26, of Buffalo, New York, with production, receipt, and possession of child pornography. Because the defendant has a prior conviction for possession of child pornography, the production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum term of 25 years in prison, a maximum of 50 years, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on or about August 17, 2012, the defendant enticed a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. In addition, Archambault is accused of possessing child pornography on a 16GB SanDisk Micro SD HC card. The defendant has been in custody on a pending case from the Northern District of New York.

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.justice.gov/psc.

The indictment is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel, and deputy United States marshals, under the direction of Charles Salina, United States marshal.

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.