Rochester Man Arrested, Charged With Production And Possession Of Child Pornography

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Sean R. Sullivan, 48, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the defendant was identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with a child pornography investigation over a peer to peer network. On April 23, 2019, a search warrant was executed at Sullivan’s Twilight Drive residence in Rochester. Investigators seized multiple electronic devices including a Lancool Tower Desktop Computer, which contained 4 hard drives. A forensic examination of those hard drives revealed dozens of images and videos of child pornography.

Several of the images and videos are of a known victim (Minor Victim 1), who resided with the defendant for several years. The images appear to have been created by Sullivan and constitute child pornography. The complaint further indicates that the defendant likely drugged Minor Victim 1 to produce the images.

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and was detained. 

The complaint is the result of an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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