Gloversville Man Charged With Distributing Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – John Morgan, age 31, of Gloversville, New York, was arrested yesterday and charged by criminal complaint with distributing child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Susan Ferensic, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The complaint alleges that Morgan, using the name “ilikyoung,” distributed videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children via a phone-based application connected to the Internet, from March 11 to March 12, 2020.

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Morgan initially appeared in court today, before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.  He was ordered detained pending a detention hearing on Monday.

If convicted, Morgan faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, and a fine of $250,000.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  Additionally, if convicted, Morgan would be required to register as a sex offender.

Anyone with information about this defendant is encouraged to call the FBI Albany Field Office at 518-465-7551.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.