United States v. Jason David Willis

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jason David Willis, 38, of Gasport, New York, pleaded guilty before Chief District Judge William M. Skretny to a felony charge of transportation of child pornography. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles B. Wydysh, who is handling the case, stated that on February 23, 2007, special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant issued by the Honorable H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., U.S. Magistrate Judge, authorizing the search of defendant's computer. A subsequent search of the computer by the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory disclosed the presence of numerous child pornography images and files and disclosed that the defendant traded in these files over the Internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Robertson, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Christopher Cummings.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2010, at 9:00 a.m., in Buffalo, New York, in front of Chief Judge Skretny.