ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Pedro Cruz, 39, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the investigation began when law enforcement officers discovered the downloading of child pornography related to a website and a particular user name. The investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Cruz’s residence. Forensic previews of some computer-related items seized from the defendant’s residence revealed thousands of images of child pornography on a laptop computer, thousands of images of child pornography on a desktop computer, over 30,000 images of child pornography on an external hard drive, and over 20,000 images of child pornography on various CDs and DVDs.
The defendant made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and was released on conditions including home detention and electronic monitoring.
The complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen. The task force consists of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department, the Greece Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
