Oneida County Man Charged with Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Win Naing, age 20, of Utica, New York, appeared in federal court yesterday on charges of receipt and possession of child pornography announced Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

The complaint alleges that in 2023, a cloud storage service reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) the upload of child pornography to the service’s platform by one of its users. Based on geolocation information associated with the internet protocol address linked to the upload, investigators from the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office were able to tie the uploads to Naing. During a subsequent search of Naing’s cellular telephone, investigators, including Special Agents from the FBI, found numerous images and videos of child pornography that Naing possessed on the device. Agents also found evidence that some of the material Naing possessed had been downloaded using a social networking application installed on Naing’s cellular telephone.

The charges filed against Naing carry a sentence of between 5 and 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and require sex offender registration upon release from incarceration. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

Naing had his initial appearance on the charges yesterday in Syracuse, New York, before United States Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks, and was detained pending further proceedings.

Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Collecting child pornography is not a victimless crime and the defendant in this case will now suffer the grave consequences of his despicable actions. Anyone who traffics in child pornography in the Northern District of New York should be prepared to face swift and immediate justice and can expect to spend years behind bars.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli stated: “As alleged, Mr. Naing had a disturbing amount of child pornography in his possession. The FBI remains committed to relentlessly investigating these appalling predators and ensuring justice is delivered to the victims.”

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI and Oneida County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle is prosecuting the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' 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.