Syracuse Man Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Martin Nicholson, age 31, of Syracuse, New York was arrested and charged today with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and one count of Receipt of Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.

Nicholson was arrested today and appeared in federal court in Syracuse. He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing on October 15, 2018.

Martin Nicholson is charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He is also charged with Receipt of Child Pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The defendant could also be fined up to $250,000.00 on each count and can be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and up to life a life term of Supervised Release. Additionally, the defendant will be required to register as a Sex Offender, if convicted.

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 charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Martin Nicholson was arrested yesterday on related New York State charges and was released after he posted bail.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher.

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), and is designed to marshal 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.