CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Travis Sanders, 36, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, was sentenced to serve 96 months in prison and 10 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Higgins, who handled the case, stated that in November 2017, Sanders possessed a laptop that contained 151 images of child pornography, including one image that depicted the sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler. During a search of the laptop and Sanders’ iPhone, investigators also discovered sexually explicit online contact between Sanders and various victims, who were or appeared to be minors. Sanders admitted that he sometimes told victims that he was a 15-year-old boy. On November 29, 2017, after Homeland Security Investigations informed Sanders that he was under investigation for sending child pornography via Skype, and after requesting to see Sander’s phone, Sanders deleted the Skype application from his iPhone.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino.
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