Paul Mignacca, a 46-year-old resident of Syracuse, has received a 78-month federal prison sentence for crimes related to child pornography. This announcement was made by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, along with Craig R. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the FBI.
The offenses occurred between September 2023 and February 2024. During this period, Mignacca uploaded numerous videos of child sexual abuse material to a social media application and stored similar content on an Internet-based file-sharing service. He was arrested in April 2024, and subsequent analysis of his electronic devices revealed over 3,400 files of child pornography.
In addition to his prison term, United States Chief District Judge Brenda K. Sannes has mandated that Mignacca undergo a 10-year supervised release following his incarceration. He is also required to pay $60,000 in restitution to children identified from the content he held and must forfeit the devices used in these crimes. Post-release, Mignacca is obligated to register as a sex offender.
The investigation was a collaborative effort by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Gillis pursued the case under Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a program aimed at addressing the growing issues of child sexual exploitation. It harnesses resources at various government levels to locate, capture, and prosecute offenders using the Internet to exploit children, as well as to find and aid victims. Further information on Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
