Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of MICHAEL MEYERS. MEYERS is charged with sexual exploitation of a child and receipt and distribution of child pornography. MEYERS was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Michael Meyers’s alleged conduct is disturbing, especially given that Meyers was entrusted with the care of children for many years as an occupational therapist at a school. This Office will do everything in our power to protect the children of our community, and we will use every tool available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who sexually exploit children.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Meyers allegedly used an online communication app to receive sexually explicit pictures from a minor child. The fact Meyers was employed in a school makes this alleged crime even more horrific. Both the bad guys and the American public need to know the FBI is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society, and anyone attempting to sexually exploit a child can expect to end up in handcuffs and face serious punishment in the criminal justice system.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint filed in White Plains federal court and unsealed today:[1]
A review of MEYERS’s phone revealed the existence of communications between MEYERS and a 16-year-old minor (“Victim-1”) on the online application Discord. In connection with these communications, Victim-1 sent MEYERS several sexually explicit photos of Victim-1 at MEYERS’s request.
Records received by law enforcement indicate that MEYERS was employed as an occupational therapist at a school in Oceanside, New York, from on or about September 1, 1998.
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MEYERS, 62, of Port Jervis, New York, is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the efforts of the FBI’s Hudson Valley Resident Agency’s Safe Streets Task Force, the El Dorado Police Department, the Port Jervis Police Department, the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the New York State Police, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. He added that the investigation is ongoing.
Any individuals who believe they have information that may be relevant to this investigation should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or https://tips.fbi.gov.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun E. Werbelow is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
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