Major Francis S. Coots of the New York State Police and Chief Deputy Joseph Lisi of the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, announce the arrest of 37-year-old, Paul L. Sylvester, of 2 Gardener St., Whitesboro, for three counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony.
Sylvester was charged by Inv. Kopek of the Whitesboro Police Department who is assigned to the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center with possessing sexual images of a child less than 16 years of age. He was arraigned in Whitesboro Village Court by Hon. Ermelindo Laracuente, Jr., and remanded to the Oneida County Jail without bail.
Information leading to the arrest was uncovered by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which is a multiagency task force that combats the sexual exploitation of children via the internet. Members of ICAC include the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit, the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other state, local, and federal agencies.
A search warrant was executed by the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit, the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, Homeland Security, Oneida County Sheriff’s Department and the Whitesboro Police Department. Several computer-related devices were seized from the Gardner Street address.
The investigation is continuing by the NYSP Computer Crime Unit, ICAC, and the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center.