MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

BUFFALO—Richard Chervinsky, 35 of North Tonawanda, who was convicted of two Counts of possessing child pornography on July 21, 2008, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and supervised release for life by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated that the defendant had been convicted of possessing over 1000 image and video files on his computer. Some of the images captured from the defendant's computer contained material portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct. The Niagara County Sheriff's department received an anonymous letter regarding this defendant. The defendant then gave consent to search the computer and 171 computer disks. The total number of images in his possession exceeded 9000 images.

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 .

The conviction was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Niagara County Sheriff's Office.