LAWFUEL – Legal Newswire – LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, and JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR.,
the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) announced that ROBERT
SCHARFF was arrested today and presented before United States
Magistrate Judge FRANK MAAS in Manhattan federal court on a
Complaint alleging that SCHARFF produced, received and possessed
images of child pornography on his cellular telephone memory card
and thumb drive. SCHARFF was ordered detained pending a hearing
scheduled for March 5, 2009.
As alleged in the Complaint:
On approximately January 21, 2009, ROBERT SCHARFF
dropped off a cell phone for servicing at a Sprint PCS Store in
Manhattan with the indication that “the internet [wasn’t] working
keeps getting error message.” A service technician later
disassembled the cell phone and removed the battery and memory
card. When it came time to reassemble the cell phone, the
technician, in order to make sure he was reinserting the correct
memory card and not another card from his work area, inserted the
card into a computer at his workstation. After seeing images that
appeared to be child pornography, law enforcement was notified.
When SCHARFF returned later that day for the cellphone he was
told that it had been “sent out.” A search conducted at SCHARFF’s
apartment two days later revealed additional images of apparent
child pornography.
The Complaint charges SCHARFF with one count of
enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct in
interstate commerce; one count of receiving child pornography
transported in interstate commerce; and one count of possessing
child pornography transported by interstate commerce. If
convicted, SCHARFF, 45, of Brooklyn, New York, faces a minimum
sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 30
years’ imprisonment for production of child pornography; a
minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence
of 20 years’ imprisonment for receiving child pornography; and a
maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment for possessing child
pornography.
Mr. DASSIN praised the work of the FBI in connection
with this investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney JESSICA ORTIZ is in
charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely
allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
09-017 ###
