St. Lawrence County Man Convicted of Sexual Exploitation Crimes

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Yesterday, following a seven-day trial, a federal jury in Utica, New York, convicted Stacey J. LaPorte, Jr., 26, of Massena, New York, of five counts of sexually exploiting four different children, and one count of receiving child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Russell Linstad, Resident Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Massena, New York.

LaPorte was convicted of conspiring with Mackenzie Bailey, 21 of Massena, NY, to sexually exploit a child from infancy to age two, and with using that child to produce sexually explicit images on two specific occasions. He was also convicted of conspiring with Hillary Trimm, 26, also of Massena, to sexually exploit another child, who was less than one-year old. Both Bailey and Trimm pled guilty to the crimes they committed with LaPorte, and testified at trial.

LaPorte was also convicted of exploiting a twelve year-old boy and his sixteen year old sister by coercing them to have sexual contact with one another in order to provide explicit images of the conduct. He was further convicted of receiving child pornography from another user over the messaging program “Kik Messenger.”

“The jury heard a week’s worth of testimony about abhorrent acts and rendered a verdict that will hold the defendant accountable for his horrific criminal conduct. With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and prosecute such unfathomable crimes against the most vulnerable among us – babies and other children -- to the fullest extent of the law,” said United States Attorney Hartunian.

"The conviction of Mr. Laporte now paves the way to permanently block his access to children," said Russell Linstad, Resident Agent in Charge of HSI Massena." HSI special agents and our partners will remain relentless in our pursuit to ensure these predators are held accountable for their depraved acts."

At sentencing on October 19, 2017, LaPorte faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, but could be sentenced to up to 170 years in prison. He will also be required to serve a term of supervised release of at least 5 years, and up to life, after any term of imprisonment, and he will have to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the New York State Police, the Massena Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa M. Fletcher and Sahar L. Amandolare.

This multi-agency approach is a hallmark of Project Safe Childhood. 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.