Repeat Sex Offender Convicted by Federal Jury

Press Release

Steven Valder Found Guilty of Sexual Exploitation and Child Pornography Offenses

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Following a four-day jury trial in federal court, Steven Valder, age 34, of Syracuse, was convicted of all counts of an indictment charging him with sexual exploitation and child pornography offenses. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.

Valder was convicted of two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child for producing sexually explicit images of a 13-year-old boy in 2023, one count of Committing a Felony Offense Against a Minor as a Registered Sex Offender, and one count of Receipt of Child Pornography. The jury also found that Valder committed the Sexual Exploitation offenses after a prior conviction for a sex offense against a minor.

The evidence at trial showed that approximately one year after being released from prison for 2010 convictions in Cayuga County Court for Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree (forcible anal sexual conduct with a 14-year-old child), and in Federal Court for transportation and possession of child pornography, Valder sexually abused a 13-year old boy multiple times in multiple locations around the City of Syracuse and photographed that abuse, and that he received child pornography over the Internet through Russian applications he had downloaded to his phone.

Valder's crimes were discovered after his United States Probation Officer found him in possession of an unauthorized smart phone on which the images of the child victim and internet child pornography were found.

At sentencing, scheduled for October 25, 2023, Valder faces a mandatory life sentence.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force and the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York, prosecuted the case.

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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

Updated July 7, 2024