Brattleboro Man Sentenced To Jail For 5 Years For Possession Of Child Pornography

Tristram J. Coffin, United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, stated that David Schnyer, 77, of 213 Birge Street, Brattleboro, Vermont was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William K. Sessions III, to 60 months in prison for possession of child pornography.  Schnyer was also sentenced to five years of supervised release after the completion of his prison term.

According to Court records, on August 13, 2013, David Schnyer was in possession of over 41,000 images and videos containing child pornography.  He was apprehended when Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) learned that that someone at the Birge Street residence was distributing child pornography using Ares, a type of file-sharing software.  Pursuant to a federal search warrant, law enforcement searched the residence at 213 Birge Street on August 13, 2013 and discovered child pornography on David Schnyer’s computer.

Schnyer was arrested on August 13, 2013 and, on August 14, 2013, he appeared before United States Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy who released Schnyer pending trial. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 29, 2013 for possession of child pornography.  Schnyer pled guilty to that offense on February 5, 2014 and was released pending sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  The United States Attorney, Tristram J. Coffin, commends that agency for its work.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney, Nancy J. Creswell.  Schnyer was represented by Steven Barth of the Office of the Federal Public Defender.