SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Aaron Bohannon, 53, of Utica, New York, pled guilty yesterday to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of distribution of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Sentencing is scheduled for December 17, 2020, at which time Bohannon faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 50 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.  Bohannon also will be required to register as sex offender. 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.

As part of his guilty plea, Bohannon admitted that he sexually exploited his victim from at least 2018 through June of 2019, recorded the abuse, and distributed the sexually explicit material to others. Bohannon further admitted that he distributed other sexually explicit images and videos of minors. 

This case was investigated by the New York State Police, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the Utica Police Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Aaron Bohannon, age 52, of Utica, New York, was charged today with distributing and possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin M. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office.

Bohannon made his initial appearance in federal court today before United States Magistrate Thérèse Wiley Dancks, who ordered that he be detained pending resolution of the charges. 

The criminal complaint filed against Bohannon alleges that in January 2019, he distributed child pornography by uploading images and videos to a social media platform.  Further, the complaint alleges that Bohannon had material depicting child pornography on one his mobile devices at the time of his arrest. 

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

If convicted, Bohannon faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender.  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.

This case is being investigated by the New York State Police, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the Utica Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.