Former Substitute Teacher Pleads Guilty To Possession Of Child Pornography

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jeffrey Maciejewski, 26, of Penn Yan, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to possession of child pornography involving prepubescent minors. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a lifetime period of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kyle Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that in May 2018, the Los Angeles office of the FBI executed a federal search warrant at a residence in Solvang, California. Special agents seized a number of electronic items containing child pornography. A resident at that address admitted to using social networking sites such as Kik and Live.me to trade child pornography with others via the Internet. Based on that information, investigators identified several individuals, including the defendant, who were actively involved in the child pornography trade.

The information was sent to the Corning Office of the FBI, who, with the assistance of the Penn Yan Police Department, identified Maciejewski as a substitute teacher for the Penn Yan Central School District. Special agents acted quickly to obtain search warrants and locate Maciejewski, who was ultimately interviewed at the school district’s offices. During the interview, the defendant confessed that he in fact traded child pornography using social networking sites, including a cloud storage service, “Mega,” which is located in New Zealand.

With the help of the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, investigators obtained the contents of Maciejewski’s Mega account, which contained hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. The defendant’s electronic devices were also forensically examined. In total, Maciejewski possessed more than 600 images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers. 

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Corning Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Buffalo Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert; the Penn Yan Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas Dunham; and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 21, 2020, at 10:00 am before Judge Geraci.