BY JOHN ANDERSON
An Allegany County Sheriff’s Department Corrections Officer has been charged with felony promoting a sexual performance by a child and felony possessing a sexual performance by a child.
Amity-based State Police charged John C. Palmer, 37, for the felonies on Wednesday. Palmer was arraigned in the village of Bolivar Court and was released on his own recognizance with a court date later this month.
Allegany County Sheriff Scott Cicirello, who was just sworn in for his first term, has suspended Palmer without pay pending the investigation. Cicirello said ” and has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the matter. The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office is cooperating with the New York State Police investigation. “
The alleged child porn did not take place at the sheriff’s department and the investigation was focused in Bolivar.
Troopers from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Amity, with the assistance from the Troop A Computer Crimes Unit, conducted an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation in Bolivar. Investigation determined Palmer possessed child pornography and was disseminating child pornography, troopers said.
Palmer has worked for the department since 2017.
The mission of the ICAC Task Force is to identify individuals online who are attempting to lure children to meet for sex or those disseminating child sexual abuse material. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC program) helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children.
