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Press Release

Cayuga County Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison for Federal Child Pornography Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York
Sentence Imposed for Eighteen Counts of Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Michael J. Mahannah, 33, of Auburn was sentenced today in federal court to serve fifteen (15) years in prison to be followed by a ten (10) year term of supervised release in connection with his guilty pleas to eighteen counts of the possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.  As part of his sentence, Mahannah will also be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

 

In pleading guilty, Mahannah admitted to sending and receiving images of child pornography that he obtained from a Russian website and to storing a number of those images on his mobile telephone.  Mahannah faced a higher mandatory minimum sentence because he has a prior conviction for a sex offense – specifically, a 2009 conviction in New York State court for Sexual Misconduct.

 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the New York State Police, the Syracuse Police Department, and the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office, 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 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 case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa Fletcher and Nicolas Commandeur.

Updated November 15, 2016

Topic
Project Safe Childhood