Tupper Lake Man Sentenced To 6 Years For Possession Of Child Pornography

Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney, Northern District of New York, announced that JAMES L. TABOLT, JR., age 40, of Tupper Lake, New York was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Albany today in connection with his guilty plea on September 13, 2012 to possession of child pornography. In entering his guilty plea before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, TABOLT had admitted that between June 2012 and February 2011 he possessed more than 1300 images of child pornography on a home computer.

Today, Judge McAvoy sentenced TABOLT to 72 months incarceration to be followed by a 15 year term of federal Supervised Release. He will also be required to register with New York State as a sex offender.

In December of 2010, a New York State Police investigator assigned to the New York Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force detected images of child pornography being made available from an internet protocol address in the Tupper Lake area. Investigators were able to determine the images came from a computer in the defendant’s residence. Following the execution of a search warrant by members of the New York State Police, Tupper Lake Police Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the defendant’s computer was seized. A forensic examination was conducted following the issuance of a federal search warrant, which resulted in the recovery of more than 1300 images of child pornography.

TABOLT’s arrest was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the New York State Police, Tupper Lake Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the New York State Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC). Assistance was also provided by the Utica Police Department’s Digital Forensics Laboratory. The joint effort is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John G. Duncan.