FBI holds Cobleskill man for porn

1/17/2018

By Patsy Nicosia

A 42-year-old Cobleskill man remains in federal custody after an investigation into possible child sexual abuse by the Cobleskill Police Department turned up more than 100 images of child pornography on his phone.
Jason M. VanBuren was arrested January 5 and ordered detained on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, according to the United States Attorney’s Office and the Albany Field Office of the FBI.
Following a hearing before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel Stewart on January 9, Mr. Van Buren remains detained pending further proceedings.
The case began locally after the Cobleskill PD received a report of the possible sexual abuse of a child involving Mr. VanBuren, said CPD Investigator Jeff Brown.
During a search of Mr. VanBuren’s Village of Cobleskill home, police seized multiple electronic devices, Investigator Brown said; following a forensic examination, he said, police turned up numerous images and videos of child pornography.
Because of the sheer number of the images, Investigator Brown said the CPD reached out to the US Attorney and the FBI to see if they wanted to take on the case.
The Cobleskill PD is continuing its investigation into possible child sexual abuse by Mr. VanBuren and Investigator Brown said additional charges against him are possible.
At this point, he said, it doesn’t appear that Mr. VanBuren made or took any of the images on his phone, however the investigation into that is also continuing.
Investigator Brown couldn’t comment on whether the images were of boys or girls.
Locally, he said, the 100-plus pornographic images on a single device are a large number; nationally, they would likely not be, he said.
If convicted, Mr. VanBuren faces at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, a maximum $250,000 fine, and a post-imprisonment supervised release of at least five years and up to life.
He would also have to register as a sex offender.
Also assisting the CPD and the FBI in the investigation were the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center and Computer Crimes Unit and Schoharie County Child Protective Services.
Anyone with any additional information on the case can contact Investigator Brown at (518) 234-2923.