Oswego Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Richard S. Buffham, 49, of Oswego, New York, pled guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue to three counts of distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Brian Devine, Resident Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Syracuse Office. Buffham, who was ordered detained pending sentencing, faces a minimum sentence at least five (5) years and up to twenty (20) years imprisonment on each of the distribution counts.  Sentences of imprisonment may be concurrent or consecutive at the discretion of the Court. The Court will also impose a term of supervised release of between five (5) years and life, and Buffham will be required to register as a sex offender. 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. Sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2017, in Syracuse, New York.

As part of his guilty plea, Buffham admitted that he distributed images of child pornography to an online chat group on September 23, 2015, September 24, 2015, and September 27, 2015.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown.

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).  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.