Thursday, July 22, 2021

Amsterdam Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

 ALBANY, NEW YORK – Cameron Hennelly, age 30, of Amsterdam, New York, pled guilty today to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. 

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Jodi Cohen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

As part of his guilty plea, Hennelly admitted that, while using a social media application on his phone, he sent a graphic image file of child pornography to another individual over the internet.  A subsequent search of Hennelly’s phone revealed that he was also in possession of images and video files depicting child pornography. 

Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby will sentence Hennelly on December 9, 2021.  Hennelly faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of between 5 years and life.  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.  Hennelly will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Williams as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  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 to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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