Convicted Felon Arrested On Multiple Child Pornography Charges

CONTACT:    Barbara Burns
PHONE:    (716) 843-5817
FAX #:    (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Jason Koscielski, 33, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with enticement of a minor, and possession and distribution of child pornography by an individual with a prior sex offense conviction. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in December 2011, Koscielski was convicted on federal charges of possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography and sentenced to serve 135 months in prison and 30 years of supervised release. In September 2020, Koscielski was released from the Bureau of Prisons custody and began his term of supervised release. On September 15, 2020, during a meeting with a United States Probation Officer to review the terms of his supervision, Koscielski told the officer that he was in possession of an unmonitored cellular telephone. The officer confiscated the cell phone for review and installation of monitoring software. During a review of the cell phone, probation personnel observed images and videos that they believed could constitute child pornography. An FBI review of the images confirmed that the images and videos were child pornography. On September 16, 2020, Koscielski was charged with violating the conditions of his supervised release for possessing and downloading child pornography.

On December 17, 2020, Kosclelski pleaded guilty to a violation of his supervised release and was sentenced to serve another 12 months in prison. On July 26, 2021, Koscielski was once again released from Bureau of Prisons custody and began his second term of supervised release. In August 2021, Koscielski was placed at the Volunteers of America, Residential Reentry Center in Rochester, NY. However, in November 2021, Koscielski was unsuccessfully discharged from the program, resulting in another charge of violating supervised release. Koscielski was arrested on November 9, 2021.    

On November 16, 2021, the Volunteers of America, Residential Reentry Center alerted probation that while bagging up Koscielski’s belongings in his bedroom at the center, another cell phone was located with his personal belongings. A review of the cell phone once again revealed suspected images of child pornography. The FBI examined the cell phone and observed numerous images of child pornography as well as several instant message conversations, during which he exchanged images of child pornography with two unidentified individuals and a 15-yeal-old minor victim.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Probation Department, under the director of Chief Probation Officer Timothy Englert and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia. 

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.          

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