SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced that John Killingbeck, 63, of Utica, New York was sentenced in federal court in Utica today on two counts of receiving and three counts of possessing child pornography, stemming from his conviction on those charges in December following a jury trial.
United States District Court Judge, Hon. David N. Hurd sentenced Killingbeck to a total of 20 years in federal prison: concurrent sentences of 20 years on each of his convictions for receiving child pornography, to be served concurrently to 10 year sentences on each of the possession charges. The Court further ordered that upon release from federal prison Killingbeck will be placed on federal supervised release for an additional 20 years. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Killingbeck’s arrest was the result of an investigation by the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, and the Utica Police Department. The case was adopted for federal prosecution by the United States Secret Service and the United States Attorney’s Office as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.
The federal prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
