ALBANY, NEW YORK - Robert Gibeault, Jr., age 49, of Gansevoort, New York, appeared today in federal court on charges that he distributed child pornography over the internet.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to the federal criminal complaint, Gibeault used the file-sharing program BitTorrent to distribute child pornography to other BitTorrent users from January 2017 through September 2017. His laptop computer contained approximately 390 video files and 85 image files depicting child pornography. These included files that Gibeault had previously distributed over the BitTorrent network. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, Gibeault faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Additionally, if convicted, Gibeault would be required to register as a sex offender.
Gibeault appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, who ordered him detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 29, 2018.
This case is being investigated by HSI, with assistance from the New York State Police and Colonie Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Giovannetti and Emmet O’Hanlon.
This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
