BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Joseph S. Heleniak, 71, of West Seneca, NY, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that between Aug. 30, 2013 and Sept. 1, 2013, the defendant knowingly possessed images of child pornography that were stored on his AOL email account after obtaining them over the internet. Some of the images depicted prepubescent minors. Heleniak was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in 2005 in the Western District of New York and sentenced to 30 months in prison.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Adam S. Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, and the Cheektowaga Police Department under the direction of Chief David Zack. The task force includes the Buffalo Police Department, the Cheektowaga Police Department, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2016 before Judge Vilardo.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
