BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a grim revelation from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Brian O’Brien, 42, of East Aurora, NY, has pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to receipt of child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, along with a fine of $250,000. Additionally, O’Brien will be required to register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson detailed that from June 2022 to July 19, 2023, O’Brien exploited Snapchat and WhatsApp to receive, view, and upload sexually explicit images of minors on his cellphone. He engaged in sinister conversations with an Arizona-based individual, distributing child pornography files and discussing the sexual abuse of minors.
Between December 2022 and May 2023, O’Brien communicated via text message with a person known as “J.J.”. He solicited J.J. to locate a minor boy for his own sexual exploitation. After securing contact information for what he believed was a 15-year-old boy, O’Brien negotiated sex acts and offered payments for the purported minor’s involvement, as well as drugs.
In July 2023, law enforcement conducted a search warrant at O’Brien’s residence in East Aurora. Seized devices included two cell phones, a hard drive, and a laptop, containing over 2,000 images and videos of child pornography.
This conviction stems from a joint investigation by the FBI and New York State Police. Sentencing is set for December 1, 2025, before Judge Vilardo.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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