Michael Cardwell, a 40-year-old resident of Rensselaer County, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release. The sentence was issued for charges related to the sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This 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).
Cardwell had previously pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a girl around the age of seven over several months during 2023 and early 2024. He admitted to creating sexually explicit images of the victim and acknowledged possessing approximately 1,000 CSAM files sourced from the internet.
United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci ordered Cardwell to pay $30,000 in restitution to victims and mandated the forfeiture of property used in committing these offenses. Upon his release, Cardwell will be required to register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III remarked, “The sentence today reflects the egregiousness of Cardwell’s conduct and ensures the public will be protected against future crimes by him for decades to come. I appreciate the hard work of the FBI and our state and local partners on this important prosecution.”
Craig A. Tremaroli from the FBI emphasized that “This sentence reinforces the message that the victimization of innocent children will not be tolerated by law enforcement. The FBI will continue to meticulously investigate these crimes, which cause irreparable harm and trauma to the victims.”
The case involved investigation efforts from multiple agencies including the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, New York State Police, and Troy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is an initiative aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated efforts involving federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders effectively while identifying and rescuing victims.
