NYC Probation Chief Costello Gets 12+ Years for Child Porn Crimes

Robert Costello, 54, of Bethlehem, PA, is going away for a long time — twelve years and seven months, to be exact — after being sentenced on federal child pornography charges. The former Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation stood before U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson, Jr. in Philadelphia and was handed a sentence that includes lifetime supervised release. The fall from power is complete: a man once entrusted with overseeing justice in one of America’s largest cities now faces a prison cell for feeding the vile trade in child exploitation.

Costello pleaded guilty in March 2021 to three counts of receipt of child pornography, one count of access with intent to view child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. Investigators found thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children stored across multiple devices at his home. These weren’t fleeting downloads — this was a stockpile, meticulously saved, repeatedly accessed, and actively expanded over time. All of it done while Costello held a high-ranking, taxpayer-funded position in New York’s criminal justice system.

“The defendant held a position of public trust paid by taxpayer dollars as an Assistant Commissioner with the City of New York,” said U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. “And at the same time, he was also downloading and storing sexually exploitative images of children – thus creating demand for those depictions to be produced and children to be victimized.” Her words cut deep: Costello wasn’t just a consumer of child abuse material — he was a driver of the market, incentivizing the continued victimization of children through his actions.

Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia, emphasized the betrayal. “Sexually exploiting children is a terrible crime, made even more reprehensible when the perpetrator is someone in a position of public trust,” Michael said. “Robert Costello, as an Assistant Commissioner of New York City’s probation department, violated that trust, and now he will face the consequences.” HSI led the investigation alongside the Bethlehem Township Police Department, tracking digital breadcrumbs that led straight to Costello’s front door.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francis A. Weber and Kelly Harrell, along with Department of Justice Trial Attorney Jessica Urban from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Their work dismantled any claim of innocence, with Costello admitting to knowingly receiving and hoarding illegal material over the internet. There was no defense against the files, the timestamps, the metadata — all screaming guilt.

Costello’s case is a chilling reminder: predators don’t always lurk in shadows. Sometimes, they wear badges, collect paychecks from the public, and sit in offices meant to uphold the law. But when they cross the line — especially into the grotesque realm of child sexual exploitation — the federal machine will come down hard. Twelve years and seven months won’t bring back the innocence of the children in those images. But it sends a message: no title, no status, no position of power will shield you from justice.