Youth violin teacher charged with transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography
NEW YORK — A private violin teacher surrendered Friday at the White Plains federal courthouse to face child pornography charges. The charges follow an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Nicholas Szucs of Westchester, allegedly received, possessed and transported images containing child pornography.
“This music teacher allegedly violated his position of trust and robbed the victims of their innocence,” said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI New York. “HSI agents will continue to police the cyber space to investigate and bring to justice those individuals who exploit the most vulnerable segment of our society — our children.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “The allegations in this case are particularly disturbing and sad. A private violin teacher, who works with children, stands accused of allegedly victimizing children. Thanks to the efforts of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and HSI, Szucs’ alleged illicit conduct was brought to light, and he will now have to answer to these serious charges.”
As alleged in the criminal Complaint unsealed today in White Plains federal court:
From at least 2012 to 2015, Szucs possessed, transported, and received images and videos containing child pornography. According to the complaint, Szucs used a peer to peer file sharing network to download child pornography. Searches of an external hard drive and a laptop belonging to Szucs revealed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Szucs also attempted to have the laptop destroyed before law enforcement could seize it.
Szucs is charged with one count each of transporting and of receiving child pornography, each of which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of possessing child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Each of the three counts also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
Updated: