Salina Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Sexually Exploiting Three Children

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Charles Poltenson, age 28, of Salina, New York, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for sexually exploiting three children.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith 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, Poltenson admitted that from 2014 through 2016 he used Skype to chat with numerous female children.  During the course of these Skype chat sessions, Poltenson enticed girls between the ages of 10 and 15 to masturbate and/or show him their genitalia.  These sexually explicit acts were recorded by Poltenson, who used computer software to record the Skype sessions so he could watch them again.  During the course of these online interactions with children, Poltenson lied about his true identity, pretending to be a child himself.

Poltenson further admitted that in addition to the live Skype sessions that he recorded, he also would send, via the Internet, voice recordings with specific instructions about sexually explicit videos he wanted various female children between the ages of 10-15 to create for him.  In response to these instructions, girls between the ages of 10 and 15 created sexually explicit videos for Poltenson and at his request sent them to him via email.  

United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also imposed a 20-year term of supervised release, which will start after Poltenson is released from prison, ordered a $300 special assessment, and a payment of $6,000 in restitution for one of his victims. As a result of his conviction, Poltenson will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the New York State Police and the FBI.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown.

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.