Syracuse Man Indicted for Possession of Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kenneth Houck, 45, of Syracuse, New York, was arraigned yesterday on an indictment charging him with possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Susan Ferensic, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Albany Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The indictment charges Kenneth Houck with possessing child pornography on a laptop computer. The indictment further alleges that Houck was previously convicted in federal court in Delaware for transporting child pornography. He was sentenced to serve 97 months in prison for that offense. Houck was serving a term of post-imprisonment supervised release in connection with his previous conviction when he allegedly committed the current offense. He has been detained without bail pending a trial, which has not yet been scheduled. Houck is also charged separately with violating his conditions of supervised release.

The charge filed against Houck carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. If Houck is found to have violated the terms of his supervised release, he faces up to two additional years in prison. 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.

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

This case is being investigated by the FBI, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.