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United States Attorney Terrance P. Flynn Western District of New York |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Peggy Kelly McFarland PHONE: (716) 843-5877 FAX: (716) 551-3051 |
FORMER WEBSTER, NEW YORK RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 65 YEARS FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION CRIMES
ROCHESTER, N.Y: Joseph Tyson, 58, formerly of Webster, N.Y., was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa to 65 years in prison after being found guilty on Dec. 3, 2007 of six counts involving the production and possession of child pornography, traveling in interstate commerce with the intent to have sex with a minor, taking a minor over state lines with the intent to have sex, and the use of the Internet to try and entice a minor into having sex with him, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York Terrance P. Flynn announced today.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who handled the trial along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Lee, stated that between Sept. 16, 2005, and Sept. 27, 2005, the defendant used his computer to chat with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old boy located in Keene, N.H. The minor was actually an undercover police officer. During the chats, the defendant attempted to persuade and entice the minor to engage in illicit sexual activity. The defendant also arranged to travel to Keene to meet with the minor. Further, the defendant had mailed the minor a webcam and condoms. On Sept. 28, 2005, the defendant drove to meet the boy. Upon his arrival, the defendant was arrested. Found in his vehicle were a mattress, sex toys, condoms, lubricant and cameras.
On the day of his arrest in Keene, computers, zip drives, CD Roms and floppy disks were seized from the defendant’s apartment. The computer related material was found to contain thousands of images of child pornography. Also discovered on a computer were sexually explicit images of a nine-year-old boy from Rochester, N.Y. The defendant had met this nine-year-old boy through the Compeer big brother program. While acting as the boy’s big brother for approximately 13 months, the defendant repeatedly raped and molested the boy. The defendant pled guilty in state court to rape and was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, The Department of Justice 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.
The conviction in this case was the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Laurie J. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge.
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