Brian O’Brien, a 42-year-old resident of East Aurora, New York, pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography in federal court, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, with the possibility of up to 20 years and a fine reaching $250,000. O’Brien will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson stated that from June 2022 through July 19, 2023, O’Brien used social media platforms Snapchat and WhatsApp to receive, view, and upload images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his cell phone. During this period, he communicated via WhatsApp with an individual in Phoenix, Arizona about sexually abusing children and distributed files containing child pornography.
From December 2022 through May 2023, O’Brien exchanged text messages with someone identified as “J.J.” In these conversations, he solicited J.J. to locate a minor boy for sexual abuse purposes. J.J. provided him with contact information for someone claiming to be a 15-year-old boy; O’Brien then negotiated sexual acts with the purported minor and agreed to pay both the minor and J.J., also offering drugs as part of the arrangement.
In July 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at O’Brien’s home in East Aurora and seized multiple devices including two cell phones, a hard drive, and a laptop computer. Investigators found over 2,000 images and videos containing child pornography on these devices.
“The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Mark Grimm and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto.”
Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2025 before Judge Vilardo.
