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Rensselaer County resident Derek Luch, age 50, of Troy, pleaded guilty Tuesday, June 14, to receiving and possessing the illegal material, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the North District.
Luch admitted that between May and October 2021 he used a file sharing service to download and receive numerous images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, prosecutors said.
He also copped to having the material when he was arrested in November 2021.
Luch now faces between five and 20 years in prison, along with at least five years of supervised release. He’ll also have to register as a sex offender.
Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 13.
The case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, a coordinated effort between local, state, and federal agencies to track down individuals who exploit children using the internet.
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