Grand Jury Indicts Level 1 Sex Offender on Charges Of Receipt And Possession Of Child Pornography

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Zachary Feeterman, 26, of Tonawanda, NY, with receipt and possession of child pornography. Based on the defendant’s prior conviction, the charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, on August 8, 2019, two Erie County Probation Officers were conducting a routine home visit at the defendant’s residence where they discovered a cellular telephone. In November 2015, Feeterman was convicted of Attempted Possession of a Sexual Performance by a Child less than 16 years old and was a Level 1 Sex Offender on probation. As a result, he is prohibited from possessing a cell phone. During a search of the phone, the probation officers discovered several anonymous chatting and social media applications. One of the applications was KEEPSAFE, a vault storage application that looks like a calculator. The application contained files with images and videos of child pornography. Investigators also found numerous other images and videos of child pornography on the phone. Some of the images and videos included prepubescent children and depictions of violence.

Feeterman will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. on March 26, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by members the Erie County Probation Department, under the direction of Commissioner Brian McLaughlin; the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James P. Stauffiger. 

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

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