CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Eric Passalacqua, 36, of Phelps, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production, receipt, distribution, and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, a lifetime period of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on January 20, 2023, the Rochester Office of the FBI received information from the FBI in Anchorage, Alaska, that an individual located in Phelps, NY, may have been responsible for exchanging child pornography with an individual in Alaska. On January 24, 2023, investigators executed a search warrant at Passalacqua’s residence. A preliminary forensic examination of his phone revealed multiple images of child pornography, including images that Passalacqua produced of a minor victim.
Passalacqua made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and is being held.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Darren Cox and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff David Cirencione.
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.
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