St. Lawrence County Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Michael St. Denny, Jr., 36, of St. Lawrence County pled guilty on March 4, 2026, to distribution of child pornography.

First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, St. Denny admitted that, in 2024, he distributed multiple child pornography files to other users of a social media messaging application, including files depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children including some as young as infants.

First Assistant United States Attorney Sarcone stated: "As the Supreme Court recognized over 40 years ago, distribution of child pornography is deeply harmful because the victims are forever haunted by the knowledge that the worst moments of their lives have been memorialized and perpetually viewed by perverted people looking for sexual gratification at their expense. My Office will never stop pursuing those who sexually exploit children, and I applaud our partners at HSI for vigorously investigating these matters."

HSI Special Agent in Charge Keegan said: "Exploiting children is among the most appalling conduct our agents encounter, and the material distributed in this case reflects a level of cruelty that is simply beyond words. Each day, HSI Massena personnel utilize every tool at our disposal to find and bring to justice anyone who creates, shares, or profits from the sexual abuse of minors. Together with our law enforcement counterparts, HSI will not waver in our mission to stand between predators and the most vulnerable members of our communities."

At sentencing on July 3, 2026, St. Denny faces a term of imprisonment of at least 5 and up to 20 years, a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life, a fine of up to $250,000, restitution to the victims, forfeiture of the property he used to commit the offense, and registration as a sex offender. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by HSI with the assistance of the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Gadarian as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.