Tompkins County Man Charged with Sexually Exploiting a Child

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Remanu Phillips, 31, of Ithaca New York, appeared in federal court yesterday on charges that he sexually exploited a child.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.

A criminal complaint filed in United States District Court alleges that in June 2019 Phillips produced 3 sexually explicit videos of a 10-year-old child.  United States Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric ordered Phillips detained pending a hearing on October 18, 2021. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If convicted, Phillips faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and life.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.  He would also be required to register as a sex offender.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Syracuse Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of FBI Special Agents and Investigators of the New York State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), with assistance from the Tompkins County Sheriff’s office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.