Queensbury Man Sentenced to 180 Months for Child Pornography Offenses

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Chad Knowlton, age 24, of Queensbury, New York, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also sentenced Knowlton to a lifetime of supervised release, to begin following his term of imprisonment.  Knowlton will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

Knowlton pled guilty on June 12, 2018. As part of his plea, Knowlton admitted using a custom-built desktop computer, equipped with peer-to-peer file-sharing software, to download and distribute child pornography.  Knowlton also admitted to using a phone to download additional child pornography.  Overall, Knowlton downloaded and retained over 1,000 images and videos depicting child pornography.

Knowlton also faces state charges alleging the sexual abuse of children in Warren County.  He is innocent unless and until proven guilty of those charges.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the New York State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.

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.