Baldwinsville Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kenneth Koegel, Jr., 40, of Baldwinsville, New York was sentenced today to 45 years in federal prison and lifetime supervised release following his conviction by guilty plea to seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of commission of a felony offense involving a minor by a registered sex offender, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of receipt of child pornography. Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

As part of his prior guilty plea, Koegel admitted that he was convicted in 2004 in Monroe County Court of sexual abuse in the first degree for exposing his penis to a 6-year-old girl in a public park and touching her vagina with his hand and that he was required to register as a sex offender because of that conviction. He then admitted that, starting in or about 2014 and continuing until October 2022, he sexually abused a girl from the time she was approximately 2 years old until she was approximately 9 years old. During that time, Koegel created numerous sexually explicit images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of his victim, including Koegel subjecting her to multiple sex acts. He also used a social messaging application to distribute the material he produced to someone else, with whom he also traded thousands of other child pornography files.

In addition to the 45-year imprisonment term and lifetime supervision, the district court also ordered Koegel to pay $12,000 in restitution and a $1,000 special assessment. Koegel will have to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force – comprised of FBI Special Agents and state and local police investigators, including from the New York State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Gadarian and Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.