Olean Nurse Charged with Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Willie G. Reid, 46, of Olean, New York, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distribution and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward H. White, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant is a registered nurse at Olean General Hospital. As a nurse, Reid’s duties included working in the Pediatric Unit. According to the complaint, between February 9, 2012 and February 8, 2013, the defendant downloaded videos and images of child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program. Some of the videos and images included pre-pubescent children and depictions of violence.

The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. Reid is being detained pending a detention hearing on May 8, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.

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 arrest is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Richard M. Frankel, Acting Special Agent in Charge, and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb.

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.