Rochester Man Charged With Attempted Kidnapping, Child Pornography

Monday, October 21, 2024, 6:30 P.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

ROCHESTER, NY.- On Friday, October 18, 2024, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross reported that Casey Medina, 33, of Rochester, New York, who is facing charges in New York State Superior Court, was charged federally by criminal complaint with Attempted Kidnapping; Distribution, Receiving, and Distribution of Child Pornography; Cyberstalking; and Aiding and Abetting.

     If convicted of the charges, Medina faces a mandatory minimum of five years, up to 20 years in federal prison, and at least three years of supervised release. Members of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office first took Medina into custody in August 2024.

     According to the charging information filed in the criminal complaint. In May 2024, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a 31-year-old woman reporting that she had been receiving text messages from unknown numbers that included her face being superimposed on numerous pornographic digital images made to appear as if she had been engaging in the sexual acts depicted in the digital images.

     Additionally, the woman reported being threatened by the unknown cellular numbers, including being kidnapped, raped, sexually abused, or killed. In August 2024, the woman told investigators that the text messages in May occurred over the course of 26 days and, after a short break, continued sporadically through June and July 2024. The woman further told investigators that the messages were becoming very alarming, and she had no idea who they were coming from.

     In August, during the investigation, law enforcement investigators received a tip from an individual who he had communicated with who had a user name “crcdal” on a social media platform. The individual with whom the other individual communicated, later identified as Medina, was looking for someone to help harass the woman. Medina provided the individual with the woman’s personal information, including her place of employment, home address, personal cell phone number, and multiple photographs.

     The individual provided investigators with multiple screenshots of the communications that they had with Medina, which included discussions of abducting, drugging, and raping the woman. An undercover investigator began communicating with Medina online, during which they also discussed abducting, drugging, and raping the woman.

Medina Arrested At Police Academy

     Following the investigation, on August 22, 2024, Medina was taken into custody by Sheriff’s investigators with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office at the Rural Police Training Academy in Livingston County, New York, where he was training to become an Avon Police Department Officer.

     After his arrest, investigators executed a court-authorized search warrant on Medina’s cell phone, where they found the communications discussing the abduction, drugging, and raping of the woman as well as digital images and videos of child pornography that Medina shared online.

“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”