Cary Man Sentenced To 20 Years For Receiving Child Pornography

Raleigh – United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever sentenced ANDREW STEPHEN LAZETERA, 28, of Cary to 240 months imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release.

     On June 25, 2015, LAZETERA pled guilty to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).

According to public information, in October, 2014, an investigation was initiated relating to the distribution and receipt of child pornography through a peer-to-peer file sharing network.  An Internet Protocol (IP) address was identified and as the investigation continued the subscriber assigned to the IP address was captured and identified as LAZETERA.

On October 31, 2014, a search warrant was executed at LAZETERA’s residence.  An initial onsite preview revealed the presence of child pornography on LAZETERA’S computer.  LAZETERA  who was present at the time of the search, acknowledged receiving and possessing child pornography.  Forensic examination of the defendant’s computer and media storage devices revealed approximately 3,400 images of child pornography.

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Cary Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

     This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.