New York man charged with possession of homemade child pornography

BUFFALO, N.Y. — An upstate New York man has been charged with possession of child pornography and now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other state and local law enforcement agencies.

Roger Luczkowiak, 31, of Dunkirk, N.Y., was arrested last week based on evidence that was found on a computer that the Dunkirk Police Department had seized from his residence in June of this year. A forensic analysis of the computer found multiple images and videos of child pornography, some containing graphic images involving a six-year-old victim.

On Friday, Luczkowiak appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy and entered a not guilty plea. He was ordered detained pending the resolution of the case. A status conference is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2011 before Magistrate Judge McCarthy.

"HSI is aggressively targeting individuals who engage in child pornography crimes," said James Spero, special agent in charge of HSI in Buffalo. "Protecting the children in our communities is one of my office's highest priorities. I applaud the Dunkirk Police Department who not only brought this case to the attention of HSI, but is partnering with us in the investigation of these alleged acts by this defendant. With the combined efforts of our law enforcement partners in western New York and throughout the nation, we will utilize all of our resources and efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of our society, our children."

"Protecting our children is one of the greatest responsibilities we as adults have," said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., Western District of New York. "Our office will continue to work vigorously with all levels of law enforcement to bring to justice any individual who seeks to harm a child. I would also urge the public to partner with us and watch out for those who are the most vulnerable. If you see something say something, and if you say something, my commitment is that law enforcement will do something."

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

The arrest was the culmination of an investigation on the part of HSI, the Dunkirk Police Department and the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Additional assistance was provided by the Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, which conducted the forensic analysis of the defendant's computer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango is handling the case.

Anyone with additional information about this case should call the U.S. Attorney's Office at 1-800-320-0682 and leave a message with their contact information.