Massena, New York - Man was Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography.

PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Robert Girard, 56, of Massena, New York, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for receipt of child pornography yesterday in United States District Court in Utica, New York, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiNicola.

"The receipt and viewing of child pornography is an atrocious crime. As people continue to share child pornography, the children in the images continue to be victimized," said United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. "Through collaborative law enforcement efforts, our offices continue to investigate and prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law."

"Homeland Security Investigations aggressively targets child predators as child exploitation cases are among the agency’s highest priority," stated Nicholas DiNicola, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo. "Working as a team with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations will continue to target individuals seeking to harm children."

Girard pled guilty on October 16, 2014 to one count of receipt of child pornography. As part of his plea, Girard admitted that he used peer-to-peer software to download and share child pornography over the internet. Girard’s sentence also includes a term of supervised release, registration as a sex offender, payment of a $100 special assessment, and forfeiture of any equipment or materials involved in the offense.

This prosecution resulted from an investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Massena. Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Kopita prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood. 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

www.projectsafechildhood.gov .