Albany Sex Offender Sentenced for Child Pornography Offenses

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Stephen Brisee a/k/a Sage Brisee, age 31, of Albany, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison following a guilty plea to all six counts of an indictment charging distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.

United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office, made the announcement.

Brisee previously admitted to receiving and distributing videos of adults subjecting girls between the ages of 6 months and 10 years to sexual penetration. A search of a phone revealed Brisee's possession of a collection of other child pornography images. At the time of the offenses, Brisee was a registered sex offender on post-release supervision following a New York State conviction for promoting a sexual performance by a child. Brisee had been released from state prison only months prior to committing this new offense.

United States Attorney Sarcone stated: "This conduct was especially egregious because the defendant was released from prison for another child pornography offense less than six months before. With our law enforcement partners my office will continue to take all available actions to hold sex offenders accountable to the fullest extent to the law when they commit new crimes."

HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan stated: "Brisee received and shared images depicting some of the most inhumane crimes imaginable against defenseless children and babies as young as 6 months old. Our community is significantly safer with this repeat sex offender no longer roaming freely. I thank HSI Albany personnel and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York for ensuring this defendant was sent back to prison where he can no longer hurt children."

United States District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino also imposed a 20-year-term of supervised release and ordered Brisee to pay $3,000 in restitution. Brisee will be required to continue to register as a sex offender upon release from imprisonment.

HSI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner prosecuted as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

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.