Marietta Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

DOJ Press

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Thomas Martin, age 35, of Marietta, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Matthew Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo, New York Field Office, and New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.

Martin, who remains detained pending his sentencing scheduled for September 29, 2022, before United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes, faces at least 5 years and up to 60 years in prison and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  Martin will also be required to register as a sex offender.

As part of his guilty plea yesterday, Martin admitted that he actively traded child pornography images and videos using a social media messaging application on his cellular telephones, and that on January 30, 2022, he distributed an image file depicting the lascivious display of a child’s genitals who was between 4 and 6 years old.  Martin further admitted that from February 3, 2020 to  January 30, 2022, he received child pornography through the messaging application, including an image file depicting the lascivious display of a child’s genitals who was between 9 and 11 years old.  Finally, Martin admitted that on February 11, 2022, he knowingly possessed 158 image files and 2 video files depicting child pornography on his three cellular telephones.

Martin’s case was investigated by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Investigators of the New York State Police, Computer Crimes Unit (CCU).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J.L. Brown as part of Project Safe Childhood.


Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.


 

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