INDICTMENT CHARGES TONAWANDA MAN WITH PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, AND TRAVELING ACROSS STATE LINES TO ASSAULT A MINOR VICTIM
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a 39 count indictment charging Trevor Knapp, 34, of Tonawanda, NY, with 15 counts of production of child pornography, two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of distribution of child pornography, 19 counts receipt of child pornography, and two counts possession of child pornography. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 930 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, in April 2024, a 17-year-old minor female contacted the Flagstaff, Arizona Police Department stating that she was being harassed by a 32-year-old male named Trevor Knapp online. The minor victim met Knapp in 2020, when she was 13 years old, on the friend finding website called “mylol.” As the two began communicating, the conversations became sexual in nature. Knapp sent sexually explicit videos of himself to the minor victim and he asked that she send naked images of herself, but she declined. However, the minor victim would get out of the shower naked while the two were video chatting and Knapp would screen capture an image of her. The two also messaged through Google Chat and Knapp utilized multiple Google email accounts. The minor victim, who was uncomfortable with how he was talking, would delete or block Knapp but he would utilize a new account to regain contact. Knapp also located the minor victim’s Instagram account and messaged her on that platform as well. The minor victim advised Knapp multiple times of her real age.
The minor victim requested for months that Knapp leave her alone, stating that she had a boyfriend. Knapp then requested images of the minor victim and her boyfriend having sex. He also sent her a naked image of a second minor victim, a female living in Pennsylvania. The two minor victims began communicating, and the second minor victim described Knapp as “the pedophile.” Subsequent investigation traced Knapp back to the Western District of New York.
On October 10, 2024, a search warrant was executed at Knapp’s residence, during which investigators seized two of his cell phones, both of which were found to contain child pornography. A preliminary search recovered a sexually explicit video that included Knapp and the first minor victim.
The indictment includes charges relating to six minor victims, one of which Knapp is accused of traveling in interstate commerce to have sex with the victim on two occasions.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Flagstaff, Arizona Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean Connolly, the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief Corey Flatau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
