Cayuga County Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Brien Fredendall, age 46, of Port Byron, New York, pled guilty today to two counts of possession of child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, Fredendall, who has a previous New York State conviction for possession of child pornography, admitted that he possessed videos and images of child pornography he received from a minor on his Snapchat account. He also admitted to possessing additional child pornography on his cellular phone.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2025, before Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes. Fredendall faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00 and a term of supervised release of between five years and life, to begin after imprisonment. Fredendall will also be required to continue to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by the FBI's Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with the assistance of the Cayuga County Sherriff's Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Tuck prosecuted Fredendall as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney's 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.