Federal jury convicts prior felon on new child pornography charges

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal jury convicted John Richard Wade, 51, of Hornell, NY, of receipt and possession of child pornography, which carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

Wade was previously convicted in 2011 on federal charges of possession of child pornography and was on supervised release for those offenses when he committed these newest offenses. On April 11, 2024, probation officers searched Wade's residence, seizing multiple unmonitored devices, including four laptops and a hard drive, suspected marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. An initial review recovered multiple videos of suspected child pornography on the seized hard drive, which was found hidden under some clothes in a laundry bin. A subsequent examination recovered over 40,000 images and videos of child pornography on the hard drive. Investigators also located the web browser Tore on the hard drive. Tore is frequently used by individuals in possession of child pornography to receive and distribute child pornography from the internet.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas M. Testani and Melissa M. Marangola. The verdict is the result of an investigation by the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II and the U.S Probation Office, under the direction of Chief Probation Officer Clifford Jackson.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., who presided over the trial of the case.

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