Schenectady County Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Possession of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Timothy ("Mitch") Duell, age 48, of Schenectady County, New York, was sentenced today to serve 30 months' imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo, New York Field Office made the announcement.

When Duell pleaded guilty he admitted that he possessed sexually explicit images of a child under the age of 12 and participated in online chats where he discussed his interest in engaging in sex acts with that child.

In addition to the imprisonment and supervised release terms, United States District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino also ordered Duell to pay the victim $3,000.00 in restitution and to forfeit the electronic device he used to commit the offense. Duell will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from imprisonment.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York State Police investigated this case, and Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney's offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.