Jamestown Man Indicted On Child Pornography Charges

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Matthew Bailer, 33, of Jamestown, NY, with receipt and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Moellering, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, on July 11, 2018, the Jamestown Police Department received a complaint from a parent that her minor children, Victim 1 and Victim 2, may have been sexually abused by the defendant. The parent stated that she was told by the defendant’s sister that a series of concerning pictures, sexual in nature, were delivered on a Nokia cellular telephone that was used by the defendant.

Bailer was subsequently arrested on a warrant out of Missouri related to a burglary case. During a search of the Nokia cellular telephone, investigators recovered several hundred images of images of child pornography involving sexually explicit conduct by prepubescent and pubescent children.

The defendant was arraigned this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder and is being detained.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Harry Snellings.

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.