Watervliet Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting a Child

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Aaron Vroman, age 29, of Watervliet, New York, pled guilty today to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

As part of his plea agreement, Vroman admitted that on at least four occasions he secretly video-recorded a minor using the bathroom for the purposes of obtaining sexually explicit images of the child’s genitals.  Vroman also admitted that he used his hand to touch that same child’s genital area over the child’s underwear while the child was asleep, and that he video-recorded that conduct as well.  Vroman also possessed images of child pornography on his laptop computer, including videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of pre-pubescent girls. 

Sentencing is scheduled for November 22, 2019 in Albany.  Vroman faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison on the sexual exploitation count and up to 20 years in prison on each of the child pornography possession counts.  Sentences of imprisonment may be concurrent or consecutive at the discretion of the Court.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  The Court also will impose a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of between 5 years and life, and Vroman will be required to register as a sex offender.

Vroman’s case was investigated by HSI, with assistance from the New York State Police and the Colonie Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey J. L. Brown and Michael D. Gadarian.

This case is prosecuted as part 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.