Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Vladimir Pelakh, 40, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson, to knowingly possessing child pornography. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, as well as a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life. The plea must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was found in possession of child pornography following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which was based on information obtained during an undercover investigation by the Spanish Guardia Civil.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent In Charge James H. Robertson.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 27, at 2 p.m. EST, in Rochester, N.Y., before Judge Larimer.