SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Martin Nicholson, age 32, of Geddes, New York, pled guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Hon. Thomas J. McAvoy to Willfully Causing the Sexual Exploitation of a Child, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As a part of his plea, Nicholson, a former local high school local track coach, admitted that sometime between 2012 and 2015 he threatened to cut off a relationship he was then having with a minor unless that minor produced and sent him sexually explicit images of another child, who was under the age of 14.  Nicholson further admitted that he received the requested images, and sent them to other users over the Internet. 

The images produced at Nicholson’s direction were recovered from his residence following a search warrant executed there in 2018 after Nicholson was discovered trading other child pornography over Twitter.  

Nicholson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison when he is sentence on February 25, 2020.  He will also be required to serve a term of supervised release of no less than 5 years, and up to life upon completion of his term of incarceration, may be required to pay a fine of up to $250,000, and will be required to register as a sex offender. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Syracuse Resident Agency and the New York State Police as a part of the Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, assisted by the Wallie Howard Jr. Center for Forensic Sciences, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York. 

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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Martin Nicholson, age 31, of Syracuse, New York was arrested and charged today with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and one count of Receipt of Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.

Nicholson was arrested today and appeared in federal court in Syracuse. He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing on October 15, 2018.

Martin Nicholson is charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He is also charged with Receipt of Child Pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The defendant could also be fined up to $250,000.00 on each count and can be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and up to life a life term of Supervised Release. Additionally, the defendant will be required to register as a Sex Offender, if convicted.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Martin Nicholson was arrested yesterday on related New York State charges and was released after he posted bail.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Martin Nicholson, age 31, of Syracuse, New York was arrested and charged today with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child and one count of Receipt of Child Pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II.

Nicholson was arrested today and appeared in federal court in Syracuse. He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing on October 15, 2018.

Martin Nicholson is charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. He is also charged with Receipt of Child Pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The defendant could also be fined up to $250,000.00 on each count and can be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and up to life a life term of Supervised Release. Additionally, the defendant will be required to register as a Sex Offender, if convicted.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Martin Nicholson was arrested yesterday on related New York State charges and was released after he posted bail.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.