Saratoga County Man Charged with Transporting Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Thomas Kopach, age 33, of Gansevoort, New York, was arrested yesterday on a charge of transporting child pornography. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

A criminal complaint alleges that in February 2020, Kopach knowingly emailed a video depicting the sexual abuse of a minor.  The charges in the complaint are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If convicted of the charge set forth in the complaint, Kopach faces at least 15 years and up to 40 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 statue the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. 

Following several initial hearings before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, Kopach remains detained pending a detention hearing on July 28. 

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation may call HSI’s Albany office at (518) 220-2129. 

This case is being investigated by HSI, with assistance from the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Williams. 

This case is 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.