Fort Edward Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Michael R. Bush, age 48, of Fort Edward, New York, pled guilty today to three counts of receiving child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As part of his guilty plea, Bush admitted that in October 2016 he used his phone to download from the Internet over 20 image files containing child pornography. The images depicted sexual abuse of children as young as 3 years old.

Bush, who has been in custody since his arrest on October 21, 2016, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2017 by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. He faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least 5 years and up to lifetime post-imprisonment supervised release, and a maximum $250,000 fine. He will also have to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison. 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.

The case was investigated by the FBI, New York State Police, and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Giovannetti.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.