Cohoes Man Arrested for Transportation of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Paul Turnbull, age 53, of Cohoes, New York, was arrested on January 27 on charges of transporting child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  Turnbull appeared in court on January 29 before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.  Following a detention hearing held yesterday, Turnbull was detained pending trial. 

If convicted, Turnbull faces at least 15 years and up to 40 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, and a fine of $250,000.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  Additionally, if convicted, Turnbull would be required to register as a sex offender.

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation may call HSI’s Albany office at (518) 220-2129.

The case is being investigated by HSI with assistance from the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the Cohoes Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Sharpe.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal 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.