Kingston Resident Charged with Distributing Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Thomas O’Bryan, age 38, of Kingston, New York, appeared in court today on a charge of distributing child pornography.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

On September 22, 2020, O’Bryan was charged by criminal complaint with distributing child pornography.  O’Bryan appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart and will remain detained until a detention hearing scheduled for September 25. The complaint alleges that, on or about the dates of March 19, 2020 and April 9, 2020, O’Bryan used the Kik phone messaging application to distribute child pornography. 

The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If convicted, O’Bryan faces at least 5 and up to 20 years in prison, and a mandatory term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. 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 is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, with assistance from the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Williams.

Anyone who wants to provide law enforcement with information about the defendant should contact the FBI Albany Field Office at (518) 465-7551. 

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s’ offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.