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Press Release

Rochester Day Care Worker Arrested, Charged With Production Of Child Pornography And Online Enticement Of A Minor

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

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
           
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Christopher Mason, 37, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with production of child pornography and online enticement of a minor. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, a thirteen year-old child complained to a school guidance counselor that Mason, her mother’s boyfriend, asked her to send him nude photos of herself. The Rochester Police Department was notified who in turn contacted the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force for assistance.

The complaint states that investigators recovered online chats between the defendant and the child, which showed that Mason was soliciting the child to engage in sexual acts with him and attempting to get the child to produce sexually explicit photos and videos for him. 

During the course of the investigation, federal agents learned that the defendant was affiliated with a Residential Day Care Center in Rochester.

Mason made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian Payson and is being held pending a detention hearing on June 16, 2017, at 11:00 a.m.

The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation by Officers of the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli; and Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S Cohen.

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.

Updated June 15, 2017