Canandaigua Man Has Been Sentenced To A Second Federal Prison Term For Trading Child Pornography
Saturday, September 7, 2024, 1:30 ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
ROCHESTER, NY.- On Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Preston Herbst, 28, of Canandaigua, New York, appeared in U.S District Court for the Western District of New York and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci to 60 months in federal prison on his conviction for Transfering Obscene Material.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who prosecuted the case in July 2023, Herbst was sentenced to serve 36 months in federal prison after being convicted on a federal charge of possession of child pornography. Herbst was allowed to surrender to federal prison on October 12, 2023, to begin serving his 36-month sentence.
Trading Child Pornography On Snapchat
Before surrendering, on September 3, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information from Snap, Inc., that a user had uploaded child pornography to the Snapchat social media platform.
An ensuing investigation traced the user back to Herbst’s residence. In October and November 2023, court-authorized search warrants were executed on Hebrst’s Snapchat account and at his residence.
The search of the Snapchat account uncovered that Herbst was utilizing the account to trade child pornography in September 2023, after he had been sentenced to the 36-month term, but before he was scheduled to surrender. Herbst was under the supervision of the United States Probation when the uploads took place and had been using a prohibited device in violation of his release conditions.
