Man Pleads Guilty to Enticing a Child

     Rochester, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that William E. Miller, 52, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer, to coercing and enticing a child to engage in sexual activity.  The charge carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum of life, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who handled the case, stated that the defendant came to the attention of law enforcement in August 2012 when members of the Rochester Police Department conducted a robbery investigation at the defendant’s residence.  During the course of that investigation, members of the joint RPD and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force discovered images of child pornography.  As part of his plea, the defendant admitted to using a cellular telephone to entice and coerce a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity and that the child was used, persuaded and coerced into and for the production of 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 Attorney’s 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 was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, including members of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Brian P. Boetig, Rochester Police Department under the direction of Chief Michael A. Ciminelli, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Patrick M. O'Flynn.