SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Richard LaPage, age 52, of Potsdam, New York, was sentenced on February 25, 2026 to 19 years (228 months) in federal prison for one count of Distribution of Child Pornography; one count of Receipt of Child Pornography; and four counts of Possession of Child Pornography. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, LaPage admitted that between December 2023 and October 2024, he used smartphone social networking applications to send and receive child pornography files to and from other users. Investigators also identified more than 150 child pornography images and videos on four of LaPage's electronic devices. Previously, on April 25, 2010, LaPage had been convicted of the New York State offense of Attempted Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, which criminalizes an adult's attempt to engage in sexual contact with a child less than 13 years old.

First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: "The defendant, already a registered sex offender, again engaged in disgusting criminal conduct that revictimized the children whose abuse was depicted in the images he distributed, received, and possessed. Repeat sex offenders should know that this Office will stop at nothing to ensure they are identified, prosecuted, and removed from our communities. I commend our law enforcement partners' work to keep our communities safe from this dangerous predator."

Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the HSI Buffalo Field Office, said: "Richard LaPage's sentencing today is another example of holding repeat child predators accountable for their reprehensible crimes against innocent children. HSI Massena, together with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York and our local partners, relentlessly pursued this case to ensure LaPage could no longer threaten our communities. We remain unwavering in our mission to protect children and will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners to root out those who prey on the vulnerable."

Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also sentenced LaPage to serve a 15-year term of supervised release to begin after LaPage is released from prison and ordered him to pay restitution to victims. LaPage will again be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The case was investigated by HSI and the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit (CCU), with assistance from the Potsdam Police Department and St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Gillis prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.