Florida Man Who Victimized Underage Girls Online Going To Prison For 29 Years For Producing Child Pornography

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Andrew Lynch a/k/a Gregory O’Neil, 33, of Crystal River, Florida, who was convicted of production of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 29 years in prison and 20 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Caitlin M. Higgins, who handled the case, stated that between April and May, 2018, Lynch a resident of the State of Florida, communicated with minor females located in the Western District of New York with the intent to have the victims produce child pornography for him. Specifically, Lynch communicated with five victims, ranging in age from 13 to 17 years old, via Facebook Messenger. As a result of Lynch’s threats and coercion, the victims sent Lynch numerous images and videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and also engaged in video chats with Lynch during which they engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During some of the communications, Lynch posted child pornographic images of the victims to Facebook in an effort to coerce them into sending more sexually explicit images and videos.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia and the Citrus County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Mike Prendergast.

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