U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against West Point Staff Sergeant For Distributing Child Pornography

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the arrest of PATRICK EDWIN GORYCHKA for distributing child pornography.  GORYCHKA was arrested yesterday and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith McCarthy in White Plains federal court and released on bail.

 According to the Complaint[1] filed yesterday in White Plains federal court:          

In October 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) received information from an FBI Online Undercover Employee (“UC-1”) concerning UC-1’s communications with an individual using the Kik user name “epg84” (“User-1”) in a Kik chat room known to be frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children.  UC-1 identified himself as a 48-year-old uncle who had engaged in sex acts with his niece.  User-1, who identified himself as “Eric G.,” asked UC-1 for photos of UC-1’s niece.  UC-1 told User-1 that UC-1 had met a “pedo mom” (“UC-2”) in New York.  UC-1 told User-1 that “she keeps kids of illegals while they work for a couple weeks” and “makes some $ on the side.”  User-1 stated, “Omg that’s hot” and asked UC-1 to connect him to UC-2.  

Thereafter, UC-2, going by the name “Jane,” and User-1 engaged in numerous communications from in or about October 31, 2019, through in or about November 16, 2019.  During these communications, User-1 said he was interested in “preteens” and told UC-2, “I heard that you could potentially facilitate certain things.”  User-1 said that he was interested in a “similar setup” as UC-1 and told UC-2, “I have money.”

On November 2, 2019, User-1 transmitted two links to Mega, a New Zealand-based cloud storage platform that permits users to store and share ESI, including images and videos. [2]  Both links contained numerous images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit activity.

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GORYCHKA, 37, of New Windsor, New York, is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The statutory minimum and maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. 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 Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution. 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

[2] With respect to Mega, a user can send a link to a Mega cloud account to another person.  Once the link to the Mega cloud account is transmitted, the person who clicks on the link to the cloud account can access, view, and download the files contained in that Mega cloud account.