Rochester Man Pleads Guilty in Child Pornography Case

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Douglas C. Tatner, II, 33, of Rochester, New York, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that a search warrant was executed at Tatner’s former residence on Glide Street in Rochester by members of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force in January 2012. The search warrant followed a report from a witness who saw images of child pornography depicting children between the ages of 3 and 12 on the defendant’s computer. Tatner admitted to possessing the images of child pornography, including images depicting pre-pubescent minors.

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 plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota. The task force includes the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Sheppard.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2013, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge David G. Larimer.