Troy Resident Charged with Distributing Child Pornography | USAO-NDNY

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Terence Ratigan, 39, of Troy, New York, appeared in federal court yesterday for child pornography. The announcement was made by US Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

A criminal complaint alleges that Ratigan distributed child pornography over the Internet. The allegation in the criminal complaint is just an accusation. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The charges against Ratigan provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years to a maximum of 20 years in prison, a custodial period of between 5 years and life after release, and a fine of up to $ 250,000.

Ratigan made his first appearance before the judge of US judge Daniel J. Stewart yesterday. Ratigan moved to postpone his arrest hearing, scheduled for today. Ratigan will remain in custody pending future hearings on the matter.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies including the Rotterdam, Troy and Colonie police departments and the New York State Police. The case is being followed up by Assistant US Attorney Rachel Williams.

The case is being followed up as part of Project Safe Childhood. Safe Childhood, launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department, is led by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Department of Child Exploitation and Profanity (CEOS) of the Criminal Division. Project Safe Childhood brings together state, state, and local resources to better locate, arrest, and prosecute those who exploit children online, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/troy-resident-charged-distributing-child-pornography