Madison County Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Ryan Berte, age 33, of Eaton, New York, was sentenced today to serve 60 months in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), Northeast Area Field Office, Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and New York State Police (NYSP) Acting Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli.

As part of his earlier guilty plea, Berte admitted that from at least February 24, 2021, through March 10, 2021, while employed as a mail carrier in Madison County, New York, he downloaded images and videos of child pornography which he also made available to third parties using a peer-to-peer file sharing program installed on his laptop. Berte also admitted that, on September 22, 2021, during a search of his home, he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on the same laptop.

Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also sentenced Berte to 15 years of supervised release, to begin following his term of imprisonment. Berte will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by USPS-OIG, USPIS, and the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), Computer Crimes Unit (CCU), Troop D Oneida. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s 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.