U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Richard Greer, a 58-year-old resident of Lockport, New York, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release. This decision was made by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo after Greer was convicted of possessing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. C. Penrose, who managed the case, explained that between April 2019 and August 14, 2023, Greer used Skype to communicate with individuals running a child-sex-trafficking network based in the Philippines. During this time, he exchanged approximately 31,000 messages, made 3,099 calls, and shared 213 media files with these traffickers. The conversations included discussions about selling live-streaming depictions of child pornography and involved Greer receiving images of children engaged in sexual activities for which he often paid.
In December 2023, federal agents executed a search warrant at Greer's home and seized several electronic devices including a laptop and thumb drive. The laptop contained over 4,400 images and 44 video files of child pornography while the thumb drive held around 13,000 images and 900 videos depicting similar content. Some materials depicted violence against children as well as sexual abuse or exploitation of infants or toddlers.
The investigation leading to this sentencing was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under the leadership of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan.
