Lancaster Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

BUFFALO—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul,Jr. announced today that Joseph Marranca, Jr., 67 of Lancaster, New York,pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, to attemptedreceipt of child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty offive years in prison and a maximum of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P.Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated the defendant posted an ad onCraigslist.com that read, in part, “looking for a teenager.” Marranca engagedin chat conversations online and began talking with a person who indicated thatshe was a 14-year-old girl. During those chats, the defendant asked the14-year-old for pictures and made arrangements to meet her at a park. Theindividual that Marranca was actually chatting with was an undercover policeofficer. The defendant was arrested after he drove to the park to meet theofficer. As part of the plea, Marranca agreed to the forfeiture of his 2005Acura, his computer, and his cell phone.
This case was brought as part of ProjectSafe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of childsexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department ofJustice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’sChild Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhoodmarshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, andprosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as toidentify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood,please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The plea is the culmination of aninvestigation on the part of the special agents of the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent inCharge; and the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of ChiefDavid Zack.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 25,2013, at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.