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BUFFALO – A Jamestown man’s sentencing on federal charges of child pornography has been adjourned.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office tells WNY News Now that James A. Chapman will now be sentenced on July 14 after it was last scheduled earlier this month. Chapman’s sentencing has been adjourned for numerous reasons for nearly two years.
Chapman plead guilty in May 2019 to charges of possession and production of child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, said that on Nov. 24, 2014, Chapman and Victim 1 communicated via Facebook Messenger about engaging in sexual activity. During the communications, the defendant offered to pay Victim 1 and one of her friends $60 each to have sex with him. Victim 1 stated that she was 16-years-old and that her friend was the same age. Later that evening, Victim 1 and Victim 2 went to Chapman’s residence in Jamestown, and the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with them, after which Chapman paid each victim $60.
Following the sexual activity, the defendant used his cellular telephone to take a picture of Victim 1 and Victim 2 completely nude sitting on his bed. A review of Chapman’s Facebook accounts revealed that he then distributed the photograph, which constitutes child pornography, to four other individuals.
Subsequently, on April 7, 2017, the defendant began communicating with Victim 3, who was 17-years-old, through Facebook. During their communications, Chapman requested and received a sexually explicit image of Victim 3. The defendant then sent the image, which constitutes child pornography, to another individual. In addition, Chapman sent Victim 3 the sexually explicit image he took of Victim 1 and Victim 2.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Harry Snellings.
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