Man indicted for child porn

ALBANY, N.Y. » A Gansevoort man has been indicted for allegedly distributing child pornography over the internet and possessing child pornography on a laptop computer.

The United States Attorney’s office says that from January to September 2017 Robert Gibeault, Jr., 49, of Gansevoort, allegedly used a peer-to-peer file sharing network and the internet to make child pornography videos available to be downloaded by other users.

Also, he allegedly possessed a laptop computer containing images of child pornography, depicting prepubescent children and children under the age of 12.

Gibeault, who was arrested in June on a criminal complaint, will be arraigned on the indictment at a later date. If convicted, Gibeault faces at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release supervision of at least five years and up to life, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Additionally, if convicted, Gibeault will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from state police and the Colonie Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Giovannetti and Emmet O’Hanlon as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and is designed to marshal 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.