Plattsburgh Man Receives 40 Years For Child Pornography Production

PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Heath Powers, age 34, of Plattsburgh, New York, was sentenced today to serve 40 years in prison as a result of his convictions for production,  distribution and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also ordered Powers to serve a lifetime of supervised release, to begin upon his release from prison. Powers must also register as a sex offender.

Powers, a former youth theater group leader, admitted that between June and August 2014, he used a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and took photos of that conduct. Powers distributed images he produced of his victim in the hopes of receiving, from other people, additional child pornography depicting other minors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Kopita.

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 Attorneys’ 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/.