A New York man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for child exploitation charges. The sentence follows an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with assistance from the New York State Police.
William Seneca, Sr., aged 65, received the sentence on February 12 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern New York. In addition to his prison term, he will undergo 15 years of supervised release for sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge at ICE Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo, commented on the case: “No child should have to live with the horrific trauma Seneca inflicted on his victim for years.” She emphasized that ICE HSI Buffalo employs a victim-centered approach when investigating online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Court records reveal that Seneca admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with a minor male from approximately 2000 through 2008, beginning when the child was around seven years old. During this period, Seneca created sexually explicit images of the child and admitted to distributing such material to an individual in Canada on at least one occasion.
Alongside imprisonment and supervised release terms, Seneca has been ordered to pay $1,141.14 in restitution to the victim and must register as a sex offender after his release.
The Department of Homeland Security runs Know2Protect (K2P), a national public awareness campaign aimed at educating children, teens, parents, trusted adults, and policymakers about preventing and reporting online child sexual exploitation and abuse. More information is available on their YouTube playlists under Know2Protect Campaign PSA Playlist and Know2Protect Digital Safety Series Playlist on DHS's main channel or through resources at know2protect.gov.
