Federal Bureau of Investigation - Buffalo Field Division - Department of Justice Press Release

FBI Buffalo Cyber Task Force (BCTF) Identifies and Arrests Child Pornographer

Laurie J. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Buffalo Field Office and H. McCarthy Gipson, Police Commissioner, Buffalo, New York, Police Department (BPD) announce the arrest of Jonathon Julian, a 21 year old male, who now resides in Buffalo, New York.

Julian was charged federally with violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A (a) (2) (A) Possession and Distribution of Child Pornography which carries a 5 year mandatory minimum prison sentence upon conviction. Julian was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. this morning Thursday, March 13.

Julian is charged with possessing and distributing sexually explicit images of children via the Internet. Members of the BCTF executed a federal search warrant at Julian's residence on South Park Avenue in Lackawanna, New York, following undercover work performed by a BPD Detective who is a member of the BCTF. A forensic examination of Julian's computer, performed by the Western New York Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory (WNY-RCFL), found additional evidence to support this charge.

This matter will be prosecuted under the direction of Terrence P. Flynn, United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The FBI's Innocent Images undercover operation is a national initiative that targets online child predators. BCTF members conduct online undercover operations under the authority of FBI's Innocent Images Operation. BCTF members aggressively target child predators here in Western New York as well as around the world utilizing highly sophisticated undercover techniques developed by the FBI.