A Steuben County sheriff’s deputy is facing serious federal charges after a national tip led investigators to uncover disturbing online activity.
Stuart McHenry, 34, of Hornell, was arrested and charged with distribution and receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Friday. McHenry appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was ordered held pending a detention hearing.
The case began with a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on July 5. According to a federal complaint, the alert came from Kik, a messaging app, which reported that a user named “acman990” had uploaded 24 suspected child pornography files.
Investigators determined that 22 of the files were child pornography and had been sent to other users. Authorities later identified McHenry as the person behind the account.
McHenry’s role as a Steuben County sheriff’s deputy came to light during the investigation. On Oct. 18, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his Hornell home, seizing two cellphones. A forensic analysis confirmed that one of the phones previously had Kik installed and was associated with the “acman990” username.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said a review of McHenry’s iCloud account revealed sexually explicit conversations and child pornography files on Kik, including the videos reported in the original tip as well as additional illegal content.
If convicted, McHenry faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and up to 20 years, along with a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was led by the New York State Police, the FBI, and the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office.
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