Saratoga Springs Man Arrested for Receipt of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Benjamin J. Varieur, age 33, of Saratoga Springs, New York, was arrested yesterday and charged today with receiving child pornography.

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 (FBI).

Varieur made an initial appearance in Albany before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered him detained pending further proceedings.

The complaint filed against Varieur alleges that in March 2018, he used an encrypted messaging application on his phone to receive child pornography over the Internet.  The charges in the complaint are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

If convicted on all charges, Varieur faces a minimum 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a term of post-imprisonment 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. 

This case is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  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.