What to Know
- A West Point staff sergeant was arrested and charged for distributing child pornography, according to federal prosecutors
- Patrick Edwin Gorychka was arrested Wednesday and was subsequently released on bail, according to prosecutors
- Gorychka, 37, of New Windsor, New York, is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography
A West Point staff sergeant was arrested and charged for distributing child pornography, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman announced Patrick Edwin Gorychka was arrested Wednesday and was subsequently released on bail.
Gorychka, 37, of New Windsor, New York, is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Attorney information for Gorychka was not immediately known.
According to the complaint filed Thursday in White Plains federal court, in October 2019, the FBI received information from an FBI Online Undercover Employee (“UC-1”) concerning UC-1’s communications with an individual using the Kik user name “epg84” (“User-1”) in a Kik chat room known to be frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children.
UC-1 identified himself as a 48-year-old uncle who had engaged in sex acts with his niece, according to the complaint. Allegedly, User-1, who identified himself as “Eric G.,” asked UC-1 for photos of UC-1’s niece. UC-1 told User-1 that UC-1 had met a “pedo mom” (“UC-2”) in New York. UC-1 told User-1 that “she keeps kids of illegals while they work for a couple weeks” and “makes some $ on the side.” User-1 stated, “Omg that’s hot” and asked UC-1 to connect him to UC-2.
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Later, UC-2, going by the name “Jane,” and User-1 allegedly engaged in numerous communications from in or about Oct. 31, through in or about Nov. 16. During these alleged communications, User-1 said he was interested in “preteens” and told UC-2, “I heard that you could potentially facilitate certain things.” User-1 said that he was interested in a “similar setup” as UC-1 and told UC-2, “I have money.”
On Nov. 2, User-1 allegedly transmitted two links to Mega, a New Zealand-based cloud storage platform that permits users to store and share ESI, including images and videos. Both links contained numerous images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit activity, according to the complaint.
