Buffalo Man Sentenced For Possession Of Child Pornography And Violating Supervised Release For The Second Time

CONTACT:         Barbara Burns              
PHONE:           (716) 843-5817
FAX:              (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.–U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Michael Kemp, 37, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. In addition, the defendant was sentenced to four months in prison for violating his supervised release.

                Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated that on October 15, 2013, Kemp’s U.S. probation officer found a computer and hard drive hidden between the defendant’s mattress and box spring in his bedroom. The computer contained over 50 images and eight videos of child pornography. The defendant was on supervised release following his July 2008 release from prison for a previous conviction of possession of child pornography. 

                This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

                The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of officers of the United States Probation Department, under the direction of Anthony SanGiacomo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero, and the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory.