Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Lying To An Fbi Agent

CONTACT:  Barbara Burns
PHONE:      (716) 843-5817
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ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Michael Beers, 68, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to an FBI special agent before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison and a fine of $250,000. 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that in February 2017, the FBI conducted a child pornography investigation during which an undercover agent downloaded four videos of child pornography directly from a device using an IP address belonging to the defendant at his residence on Lake Avenue in Rochester.
On March 10, 2017, the FBI executed a search warrant at Beers’ residence. Agents located a computer which contained file titles consistent with child pornography. The defendant was questioned regarding his use of the computer, at which point Beers willfully made materially false statements to FBI Agents. Specifically, the defendant denied having access to or using the computer, denied knowing the password for the computer, and denied that child pornography had been accessed, inadvertently or otherwise, on the computer. In reality, the defendant used the computer, personally set the password for computer, and had seen child pornography on the computer.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin P. Lyons.           
Sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2018 before Judge Siragusa.