Upstate New York man sentenced to 5 years in prison on child pornography charges

BUFFALO, N.Y — An upstate New York man, who was convicted of possession of child pornography, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Daniel Nowakowski, 42, of Orchard Park, N.Y., was the subject of a search warrant after authorities identified him as having subscribed to a child pornography Internet site and also receiving child pornography in packages mailed from Toronto.

"While it is heartbreaking to discover images of innocent children being sexually exploited, it strengthens the resolve of law enforcement to investigate child pornography crimes," said James Spero, special agent in charge of HSI Buffalo. "I applaud the diligence and commitment of the HSI special agents who investigated this case and brought the defendant to justice. We will continue to dedicate our resources and track down those individuals who are involved in the underworld of child pornography."

HSI's ongoing efforts to target suspects involved in child exploitation offenses are 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-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are 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.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles B. Wydysh, Western District of New York.