Washington County Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Tristan Shaw, 31, of Granville, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of receiving child pornography, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James C. Spiro, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Division of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

As part of his guilty plea, Shaw admitted that between November 26, 2009 and November 26, 2013, while in his Granville, New York residence, he used the Internet and a peer-to-peer file sharing program to receive approximately 200 still image files containing child pornography.

As a result of his conviction, Shaw faces a minimum sentence of five (5) years imprisonment, a maximum term of twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least five (5) years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.  Sentencing is scheduled for December 5, 2016 at 10 a.m. in Albany, New York, before Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Belliss.

This case is prosecuted as 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.