Rochester man convicted of child pornography, sentenced to 15 years in prison

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Rochester man has been convicted of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced Thursday that 23-year-old Joseph Perez of Rochester who was convicted of possessing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor was sentenced. In addition to 15 years in prison, Perez will also spend 10 years under supervised release.

Meghan K. McGuire, the U.S. attorney who handled the case, said that in November of 2021 Twitter reported that one of its users uploaded four pictures of child pornography to Twitter.

An investigation traced those pictures back to Perez’s account, leading to investigators seizing his electronic devices — including a cell phone with around 125 videos of child pornography. Officials say some of the videos included children under 12 years old engaging in sexually explicit content.

At the time of his arrest, there was an active arrest warrant out for Perez out of Potter County, Texas.

Officials explain as a part of his federal plea, Perez admits that he sexually abused a minor victim in Texas more than twice.