Palmyra Man Pleads Guilty To Possessing Child Pornography

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE:  (716) 843-5817
FAX #:                 (716) 551-3051
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Cody Yerden, 20 of Palmyra, NY, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography involving pre-pubescent minors before U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that Yerden was first identified during an online child exploitation investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations. Agents learned that the defendant was posting images of child pornography to online websites located outside the United States which depicted children as young as four years old being sexually abused. They traced the activity to Yerden’s home, and executed a federal search warrant in March 2014. In an interview conducted while agents were executing the search warrant, the defendant admitted to using specific terms to search out images of child pornography. Agents seized multiple digital items from Yerden and found over a thousand images and movies showing young children being raped on several computers and an iPod.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge J. Michael Kennedy.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 19, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Siragusa.