Chenango County Man Arraigned on Child Pornography Charges

 SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Brian T. Whipple, age 42, of New Berlin, New York was arraigned yesterday on an indictment filed by a federal grand jury charging him with Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon, Matthew Scarpino, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and New York State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen.

An indictment unsealed in federal court charges that from approximately 2009 through June 2020 the defendant used a peer-to-peer file sharing service connected to the internet to receive and download child pornography and that he possessed child pornography on multiple devices in June 2020.

If convicted, Whipple faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between five years and life. Whipple also would have to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

Whipple was detained in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric on October 8, 2021.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in cooperation with the New York State Police and the Chenango County District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.