CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Steven Gasiorek, 36, of Cheektowaga, NY, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Williams M. Skretny to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, a maximum penalty of 40 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that between March 2014, and April 16, 2019, Gasiorek worked as a substitute teacher and athletic coach at John F. Kennedy Middle and High Schools in Cheektowaga, NY. During that time, Gasiorek pretended to be a teenage girl living in California and used a fictitious Instagram account in the name of LEXIGURL1015 to communicate with numerous minor males and receive child pornography from them. Gasiorek knew the victims he was communicating with were minors, and he served as a teacher or coach to some of the victims he received child pornography from.
On April 16, 2019, during the execution of a search warrant at Gasiorek’s residence, a laptop computer and external hard drive were seized. A forensic examination recovered images and videos of child pornography depicting many minor males, of which 29 have been positively identified. The victims lived in Cheektowaga, Lancaster, Virginia, Texas, and Florida. In total, Gasiorek possessed over 600 images and videos of child pornography.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Gould, the West Seneca Police Department, under the direction of Chief Edward Baker, and the Fauquier County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Jeremy Falls.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 27, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.
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