U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that John Stuart, a 37-year-old from Ransomville, NY, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison and 25 years of supervised release following his conviction for possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo handed down the sentence, which also requires Stuart to register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who managed the case, explained that the FBI received a lead in August 2019 indicating that an online user accessed child sexual abuse material via a website on the Tor network in May 2019. The investigation traced the IP address back to Stuart. A search warrant executed at Stuart’s residence in October 2020 led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices, including two laptops, a cell phone, a hard drive, and a desktop computer tower.
A forensic examination uncovered approximately 8,000 videos and about 2,000 images of child pornography on one laptop and around 150 images and one video on the second laptop. The cell phone contained roughly 90 images and 150 videos of child pornography, while the hard drive held about 90 images and two videos. Some of these images depicted violence against children.
Stuart admitted that during the search warrant execution, law enforcement found live marijuana plants and over a pound of dried marijuana ready for use. He was identified as a chronic marijuana user and was also discovered with three firearms in his possession. As he was using controlled substances, he was legally prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.
The sentencing resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Task Force under Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia’s direction and the Cheektowaga Police Department led by Chief Brian Coons.
