Johnson City Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting a Child and Child Pornography Offenses

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Michael Rushmer, age 47, of Johnson City, New York, pled guilty today to one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea Rushmer admitted that he created sexually explicit images and videos of a minor (including secretly recording the victim engaged in sexual acts), and that he distributed some of those images and videos to other persons over the internet.  Rushmer further admitted that he also possessed hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography on his electronic devices, some of which included children under the age of 12. 

Sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2019 in Binghamton before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.  Rushmer faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a child, between 5 and 20 years in prison for his distribution of child pornography, and up to 20 years in prison for his possession of child pornography.  Rushmer will also be required to spend at least 5 years, and up to a lifetime term on post-imprisonment supervised release.  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.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Johnson City Police Department, the Broome County Sheriff’s Department, and the Broome County District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Gadarian and Sahar Amandolare.

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