U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo has announced the indictment of Jose Perez, a 40-year-old resident of Celeron, New York. The federal grand jury charges Perez with attempted production and possession of child pornography. These charges could result in a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, with a maximum potential sentence of 80 years, alongside a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Rudroff is managing the case. According to both the indictment and an earlier criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information on September 3, 2022, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Perez allegedly uploading suspected child pornography. On December 15, 2022, HSI executed a search warrant at Perez's home. During this search, authorities seized computers, a cellphone, and electronic storage devices including a thumb drive that contained two video files seemingly captured by a videocam in Perez's bathroom. One file depicted a naked minor who appeared unaware of being recorded by the camera. Additionally, the thumb drive held 17,839 image files from the same bathroom camera showing naked images of the minor victim. Child pornography was also discovered on Perez’s cellphone.
The investigation leading to this indictment involved collaboration between the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office led by Sheriff James Quattrone and Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan.
It is important to note that an indictment represents merely an accusation; Jose Perez remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.