PROFESSOR ARRESTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

BUFFALO, N.Y.--  U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced today that Philip Michael Gray, 59, a professor at D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York, was arraigned before the Honorable Hugh B. Scott, United States Magistrate Judge this morning after he was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with unlawful receipt and possession of child pornography.  This charge carries a mandatory minimum term of prison of 5 years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.  The possession charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. stated that the complaint charges that defendant used his computer at the college to download numerous images of child pornography which were discovered during the course of a computer upgrade at the school.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This criminal complaint was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Laurie Bennett, Special Agent-in-Charge. A detention hearing is scheduled in the case for July 23 before Judge Scott.

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.

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