New York Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Attempting to Produce Child Pornography

Posed as Teen Girl Online, Tricked Children into Sending Him Nude Photos

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Binghamton, N.Y., man who posed online as a teenage girl was sentenced in federal court today for attempting to produce child pornography by tricking children – including three victims in Sedalia, Mo. – into sending him nude images of themselves.

Brandon David Cuddihe, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Cuddihe to 30 years of supervised release following incarceration.

On Oct. 16, 2018, Cuddihe pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to produce child pornography. Cuddihe admitted that he posed on Facebook as a 14-year-old girl named “Hannah Richards.” Using that false identity, he conversed with more than 150 people, many of whom were between 10 and 16 years of age. Three minors, including two 10-year-olds and a teenager, are from the Sedalia, Mo., area. The mother of one of those victims contacted the Sedalia Police Department when she learned that her 10-year-old daughter had sent nude photos and videos via Facebook Messenger. Federal agents were able to identify and interview eight additional victims between the ages of 10 and 16.

Using the “Hannah Richards” Facebook account, Cuddihe told investigators, he would pick a random individual to befriend. Cuddihe would go through all of their friends and add a bunch of their friends to his friends list. If an individual accepted his friend request, then he would begin chatting with them through Facebook Messenger. In some cases, according to court documents, Cuddihe redistributed a victim’s images in order to convince other children to produce child pornography. The “Hanna Richards” Facebook account is over 2,000 pages long and is dedicated almost entirely to soliciting pornographic images from children.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI, the Sedalia, Mo., Police Department, the Binghamton, N.Y., Police Department, and the Broome County, N.Y., Sheriff’s Department.