Columbia County Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Christopher Stickles, age 35, of Copake, New York, pled guilty today to receiving child pornography.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Alfred Watson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

Stickles admitted that between January 2021 and August 2022, he accessed the Internet in order to visit file-sharing sites and websites that contained child pornography.  Stickles further admitted that while on these sites, he downloaded more than 15,000 still image and video files that contained child pornography. 

At sentencing on December 20, 2023, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci, Stickles faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison.  The judge will also be required to impose a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to a life term.  The court may also impose a fine, restitution, and forfeiture of the computer Stickles used to commit his offense.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  Stickles will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes FBI special agents, and state and local investigators, including members of the New York State Police. The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force assisted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.