Prior offender arrested, child pornographer pleads guilty
From the U.S Attorney Michael DiGiacomo,
PRIOR SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED ON NEW CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
BUFFALO, NY — U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that James Mitchell, 40, of Gowanda, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.
According to the criminal complaint, on July 19, 2026, the New York State Police responded to Mitchell’s Broadway Road residence in Gowanda, after receiving information that he allegedly possessed child pornography on his cellular phone. The information came from an individual (Informant) who is part of an online organization, not affiliated with law enforcement, performing volunteer activities to identify child abusers on the internet. Law enforcement received information that Mitchell engaged in sexually explicit communications over TELEGRAM (an encrypted communications application) with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy. During these conversations, Mitchell discussed plans to meet the 13-year-old to engage in sexual acts in Fredonia and Amherst, NY.
Law enforcement seized Mitchell’s cellphone. A subsequent search recovered numerous videos containing child pornography. In addition, investigators located a conversation on Telegram with an unidentified user, during which Mitchell stated: “Lol. I prefere 11+, so most the stuff I have is in the 11-17 range,” indicating that he primarily had a sexual interest in children ages 11 to 17 and that he possessed child pornography depicting 11-to-17-year-old children. Mitchell exchanged approximately 143 videos and/or images depicting child pornography during the conversation. In another conversation, he advised another individual that he had “over 6000” videos of child pornography on a flash drive, but “only like 15 of them are kids and animals.”
Mitchell is a Registered Level 1 sex offender in New York and Indiana following a June 25, 2007, conviction in Cattaraugus County Court for Possessing an Obscene Sexual Perform by Child Less Than 16 Years Old.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson. The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto.
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.
FALCONER MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PRODUCTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SHORTLY AFTER FEDERAL TRIAL BEGINS
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Yusef E. Malik Myrick, 27, of Falconer, NY, pleaded guilty to four counts of production of child pornography before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. following opening arguments in his federal jury trial. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Between September 2020, and December 19, 2021, Myrick communicated with several minor females on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, coercing four minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing visual depictions of such conduct.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers discovered that in December 2021, Myrick instructed co-defendant Lily A. Brandow to locate his cell phone, which he hid in their home in an attempt to conceal it from law enforcement. He also instructed Brandow to access and delete several Google accounts and a Snapchat account which he knew were subjects of the investigation and prosecution. On January 31, 2022, during the arrest of Brandow, Myrick’s cell phone was seized and found to contain child pornography.
The investigation further determined that Myrick engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with a victim on Snapchat, during which he asked the minor victim to send him a sexually explicit photo. Myrick also accessed the victim’s Snapchat account and posted a video to her public Snap Story, depicting the victim engaged in sexual activity with another known minor. In addition, Myrick engaged in sexual activity with three other minor victims and recorded the activity on his cell phone. He sent the sexually explicit videos from two of the victims to other individuals.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James B. Quattrone; the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Scott Forster; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone, and the Ellicott Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Ingrao. Additional assistance was provided by the Rome, Georgia Police Department, and the Child Advocacy Program of Chautauqua County.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date before Judge Sinatra.
