Schaffer Gets 25 Years for Exploiting 14-Year-Old

UTICA, NY – Jerod Schaffer, 42, of Potsdam, New York, will spend the next 25 years (300 months) behind bars after being sentenced today for the horrific sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old girl and the possession of sickening child pornography. The sentence, handed down by Senior United States District Judge David N. Hurd, marks a significant victory in a case that exposed a predator preying on a vulnerable victim.

The investigation, spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Potsdam Police Department, revealed a pattern of calculated abuse. Schaffer, already a registered sex offender due to a 2014 conviction in Franklin County for attempted sexual abuse in the first degree, wasn’t deterred. He actively sought out a minor, connecting with a 14-year-old girl on social media in November 2021. He quickly escalated the contact, demanding and receiving sexually explicit images.

But the digital abuse wasn’t enough for Schaffer. In early 2022, he crossed state lines, traveling from New York to Ohio to meet the victim in person. There, he engaged in repeated sexual conduct with the child, and the depravity didn’t stop there – he recorded the abuse. When law enforcement finally executed a search warrant on Schaffer’s home in May 2022, they discovered dozens of files containing the explicit images of his victim, a chilling testament to his obsession.

Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III didn’t mince words. “This sentence ensures that a child rapist, who recorded the abuse he inflicted on his victim, will remain in federal prison for decades to come,” he stated. “Our community is safer with this pedophile behind bars. My Office will continue to work with our federal and state partners to ensure that child predators get what they deserve.” Schaffer will also face a 10-year term of supervised release after serving his prison sentence, and will be required to continue registering as a sex offender.

Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of HSI, emphasized the severity of Schaffer’s actions. “Jerod Schaffer willfully and repeatedly exploited a 14-year-old girl whom he traveled across state lines to meet,” she said. “While no amount of justice can undo the trauma this victim incurred, today’s sentence ensures this child predator will not soon roam free.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Gadarian and Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating the epidemic of child sexual exploitation. Project Safe Childhood marshals resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals like Schaffer, and to rescue the victims they target. Anyone with information about child exploitation is urged to report it to the authorities or visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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