Green Island Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Arthur Gurbey, age 48, of Green Island, New York, pled guilty on August 12 to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2020 before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.  Gurbey faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. 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.

As part of his guilty plea, Gurbey admitted that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with a person he believed to be a 15-year old girl, whom he attempted to meet in person in Saratoga County, on November 27, 2018. He also admitted to using his cellphone to receive images and videos of child pornography. A forensic review of Gurbey’s phone revealed that it contained over 100 image and video files depicting the sexual abuse of children

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. Powers.

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.