Albion man sentenced to 12 years in prison for child pornography

Press Release, United States Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, Western District of New York

BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Norman Kelly, 69, of Albion, who was convicted of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 144 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeve E. Huggins, who handled the case, stated that on October 20, 2023, Kelly arrived at the Port of Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on a flight from Incheon, South Korea.

During an inspection of his baggage, Kelly removed a cellular phone from his pocket, and had a computer bag, which contained a laptop computer, and four USB thumb drives. Due to a lack of eye contact during questioning, inconsistencies in his travel story, and nervous behavior, the devices were authorized to be examined.

A Customs and Border Protection officer examined the cell phone, laptop and one of the thumb drives and discovered what appeared to be suspected child pornography. Subsequent investigation determined that between March 12 and September 20, 2023, Kelly used his laptop computer to entice minors to engage in sexually explicit behavior for the purpose of producing images, which he would receive via the internet.

On March 12, 2023, Kelly received a sexually explicit image of a female child, approximately 10-12 years old. On July 20, 2023, he received a sexually explicit video file of an infant female, approximately 1.5 to three years old.

Kelly possessed approximately 475 image files and 377 video files of child sexual abuse material. Some of the images included depictions of violence against children.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan. Additional assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, Michigan.