A Rochester man, Zachary Guthrie, 32, has been arrested and charged with distributing and possessing child pornography. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo. If convicted, Guthrie faces a minimum of five years in prison, up to 20 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford stated that the investigation began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received CyberTips from Instagram in May and July 2024 about child pornography uploaded by a user linked to an IP address in Rochester. Authorities traced these uploads back to Guthrie.
In September 2024, law enforcement received a report from Microsoft after an Xbox user named HeadStashClass posted a threat referencing violence at a local preschool. Investigators again traced this post to Guthrie. In October 2024, police executed a search warrant at his residence and seized a cell phone containing more than 200 videos and over 320 images of child pornography.
Further tips followed in early 2025. In February, NCMEC received another CyberTip from Instagram involving the online enticement of children for sexual acts; a 14-year-old girl reported sexually explicit conversations with someone later identified as Guthrie. In March, the FBI National Threat Operations Center got an anonymous tip naming “Zachary Guthrie” as soliciting sex with minors after screenshots appeared on Facebook showing him asking local sex workers for girls aged 12 and under. In April, Facebook submitted another CyberTip about alleged child sex trafficking involving explicit messages sent via Messenger offering money for sexual acts with a minor; this message was also traced back to Guthrie.
Guthrie made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Colleen D. Holland and is being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for August 29, 2025.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm, the New York State Police led by Major Kevin Sucher, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“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.”
