U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that Gerard Dzierzanowski, a 52-year-old resident of Lockport, New York, has pleaded guilty to the distribution of child pornography. The plea was entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum potential sentence of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, who is prosecuting the case, explained that in February 2023, Dzierzanowski began using the Whisper Messenger application to communicate with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl. These conversations later moved to Kik Messenger. However, Dzierzanowski was actually communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer as part of an investigation targeting users attempting to engage in criminal sexual activities with minors on these platforms.
During their interactions on Kik Messenger, the undercover officer repeatedly informed Dzierzanowski that she was 13 years old. Despite this warning, Dzierzanowski sent several images classified as child pornography and videos depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a prepubescent female and an adult male. He also requested that the supposed minor engage in sexually explicit acts with him and shared both a "selfie" and a sexually explicit video of himself.
In August 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Dzierzanowski's home where they seized multiple digital devices containing images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit activities.
The investigation leading to this plea was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan's direction.
A sentencing date for Dzierzanowski will be determined later.