Local Artist Pleads Guilty to Obsecenity

       Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Lawrence F. Brose, 62, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. Judge William M. Skretny, to importation or transportation of obscene matters. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who is handling the case, stated that the investigation against the defendant began after a German police agency contacted United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and advised them that an IP address in the United States downloaded some images of suspected child pornography.  ICE Special Agents determined that the IP address was registered to Brose.  Agents met with the defendant and during the meeting, Brose admitted to viewing images. An examination of the defendant’s computer resulted in agents finding various  images, including one of a minor male less than 16 years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of United States Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of James C. Spero.