Ballston Spa Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jason Novoa, age 37, of Ballston Spa, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Charles Margiotta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea, Novoa admitted that, over a period of at least five years, he used a laptop computer equipped with peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download videos and images depicting child pornography.  Novoa further admitted that between June 9 and June 13, 2017, he made available for download over 800 images of child pornography. Novoa possessed approximately 30 video files and 310 image files depicting child pornography on June 29, 2017, when the laptop was seized by investigators pursuant to a federal search warrant executed at his residence.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 15, 2018, in Albany, New York.

Novoa faces a minimum term of imprisonment of five (5) years on the charge of receipt of child pornography and a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years on both counts.The Court is also required to impose a term of supervised release between five (5) years and life, and Novoa will be required to register as a sex offender. 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.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc