Zachary Cota, a 32-year-old former resident of Castleton-on-Hudson, New York, was sentenced to 292 months in prison for receiving child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Cota admitted to using SnapChat to solicit nude photos from three children. He coerced an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old into sending additional child sexual abuse material by threatening to reveal their actions. At the time, Cota was on probation for a state conviction related to sexual conduct against a child. When his Probation Officer requested access to his phone, Cota attempted to delete its contents by locking himself in a bathroom. However, a forensic search revealed approximately 900 images of child pornography, including screenshots from a video chat with a naked child.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III commented: “Cota’s depraved and disgusting conduct has justly resulted in a lengthy term of imprisonment that will make our community safer. We will continue to investigate and prosecute sex offenders and pedophiles who use the Internet and social media applications to prey on children.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli stated: “Today’s sentence underscores the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting children from dangerous predators like Mr. Cota. We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners at every level to identify and investigate these disturbing individuals and ensure justice is delivered to the victims.”
In addition to the prison sentence, United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci imposed a life term of supervised release on Cota and ordered him to forfeit the Samsung phone used in committing the offense. Upon release from prison, Cota must also continue registering as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the FBI Albany Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner under Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is an initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through collaboration among federal, state, and local resources. It focuses on locating, apprehending, and prosecuting those who exploit children online while also identifying victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
