Guilty plea to kid porn charges

Man admits possession, now faces time in prison

ALBANY, N.Y. » A 37-year-old Ballston Spa man admitted Tuesday to having child pornography, authorities said.

Jason Novoa pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Charles Margiotta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced.

As part of his guilty plea, Novoa admitted that, over a period of at least five years, he used a laptop computer equipped with peer-to-peer file-sharing software to download videos and images depicting child pornography. Novoa further admitted that between June 9 and June 13, 2017, he made available for download over 800 images of child pornography, authorities said. Novoa possessed approximately 30 video files and 310 image files depicting child pornography on June 29, 2017, when the laptop was seized by investigators pursuant to a federal search warrant executed at his residence, authorities said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 15 in Albany.

Novoa faces a minimum term of imprisonment of five years on the charge of receipt of child pornography and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on both counts. The court is also required to impose a term of supervised release between five years and life, and Novoa will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.