Steven S. Mills, 34, of North Tonawanda pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott, to a felony charge of possession of child pornography, acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen Mehltretter of the Western District of New York announced today in a press release.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a $100 mandatory special assessment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that on or about January 18, 2008, Mills possessed over 150 images of child pornography on his computer. Some of the children shown in the images were prepubescent and less than 12 years of age. The defendant used a file sharing program to obtain the child pornography and knew that others could obtain access to his child pornography images.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals, 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.
The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Buffalo location, under the direction of Cory Nelson, acting special agent in charge.
Sentencing will be scheduled by District Judge William M. Skretny.
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