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Orange County resident Patrick Edwin Gorychka, 37, of New Windsor, was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 4, and charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, said Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The charge carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years.
According to the complaint filed in White Plains federal court Thursday, Dec. 5, in October 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received information from an online undercover employee concerning communications with an individual using the Kik user name “epg84” in chat room known to be frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children.
The undercover agent identified himself as a 48-year-old uncle who had engaged in sex acts with his niece.
The chat room user "epg84" identified himself as “Eric G.,” asked for photos of the niece. The undercover agent then said he had met a “pedo mom” in New York and added that “she keeps kids of illegals while they work for a couple weeks” and “makes some $ on the side.”
The Kik user responded by saying, “Omg that’s hot” and asked to connect him to the woman, also an undercover agent.
That agent, going by the name “Jane,” engaged in numerous communications from on or about Oct. 31, 2019, through on or about Nov. 16, 2019.
During these communications, the Kik user said he was interested in “preteens” and told the undercover agent, “I heard that you could potentially facilitate certain things.”
On Nov. 2, 2019, the Kik user transmitted two links to Mega, a New Zealand-based cloud storage platform that permits users to store and share ESI, including images and videos. Both links contained numerous images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit activity.
Berman praised the efforts of the FBI, West Point’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Town of New Windsor Police Department, in connection with this investigation. He added that the investigation is ongoing.
The prosecution is being handled by the Southern District of New York Office’s White Plains Division.
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