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Press Release

Tonawanda Man Indicted For Production Of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging David Barraclough, 31, of the City of Tonawanda, with five counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum of 50 years. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, in November 2014, the defendant was arrested and detained on a local charge of endangering the welfare of a child. In February 2015, two individuals began cleaning out Barraclough’s apartment so that it could be rented to another tenant. One of the individuals discovered a thumb drive and electronic tablet and turned the items over to police. Subsequently, the Tonawanda Police Department obtained a search warrant for the digital media and the apartment.

A forensic analysis of the thumb drive and tablet revealed 238 images and five videos of child pornography. Also included on the tablet were numerous sexually explicit text conversations. One of the conversations was between Barraclough and a 14 year old girl in Virginia. 

The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of  Jerome C. Uschold III, and the of City Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief William Strassburg.

Updated July 27, 2015