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Press Release

Former City Honors Teacher Sentenced To Serve 14 Years In Prison On Child Pornography Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Peter Hingston, 63, of Amherst, NY, who was convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 168 months in prison and 15 years supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated that on June 17, 2019, Buffalo Police Officers were called to City Honors School, where Hingston worked as a middle school technology teacher, based on allegations that Hingston was taking inappropriate photographs of female students with a GoPro camera. Officers secured the GoPro digital camera from Hingston. A subsequent search of the camera resulted in the recovery of child pornography videos produced by Hingston, involving minor victims who were under his custody, care, and supervisory control when the sexually explicit images were produced. Investigators also searched an external hard drive possessed by Hingston, which contained additional videos of child pornography produced by Hingston, involving different minor victims, who were also was under his custody, care, and supervisory control.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James P. Stauffiger.

Updated March 23, 2023

Topic
Project Safe Childhood