Haverhill, Massachusetts Man Charged With Making and Distributing Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Michael McCann, 30, of Haverhill, Massachusetts and formerly of Ilion, New York, was charged in Federal Court in Syracuse with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a federal felony offense, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Vadim Thomas of the FBI Albany Field Office, and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach, II.

McCann was arrested on Monday April 24, 2017 in Haverhill, Massachusetts and made his initial appearance in Federal Court in Boston, Massachusetts the following day. He was remanded to custody without bail, pending his appearance in the Northern District of New York at a date yet to be determined. The filed criminal complaint alleges on April 16, 2017 in Herkimer County, New York, the defendant took photos of a child less than five years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct with him, for the purpose of distribution. The criminal complaint also alleges that the defendant sent these images via the internet to an undercover FBI Task Force Officer in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 18, 2017.

The charge filed against Michael McCann carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least five 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.

The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Anyone whose children may have had contact with McCann is asked to contact the New York State Police BCI in Herkimer, NY at (315) 866-7275 or the FBI Lowell MA Resident Agency at (978) 454-6972. All information will be kept confidential.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Syracuse Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, a federal task force that investigates cases involving the sexual exploitation of children. The task force consists of FBI Agents and New York State Police Investigators. This investigation was conducted with the assistance of the FBI Little Rock, Arkansas Field Office, the FBI Lowell, Massachusetts Resident Agency, the Herkimer County District Attorney’s Office, the Herkimer County Child Advocacy Center, Herkimer County Child Protective Services, the Village of Ilion, NY Police Department and the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Fletcher and Carina Schoenberger.

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.