Saratoga Springs Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography
Friday, October 2, 2026 - Jeffrey Hart, age 51, of Saratoga Springs, New York, was sentenced September 14, 2026, to 210 months for distribution and possession of child pornography.
First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Anthony Patrone, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Hart admitted that, after being convicted of the New York State offense of possessing a sexual performance by a child, he used an Internet-based group messaging application to send a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child to another user. Hart also admitted to possessing at least 79 images and 29 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on his cell phone.
First Assistant United States Attorney Sarcone stated: “Thanks to the efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, another dangerous individual who victimized children will likely be spending the rest of his natural life in prison, which is likely less time than his victims who still have to live with the memory of this monster’s abuse. Our office has zero tolerance for any crimes against children, especially those committed by individuals who have previously been convicted of such horrendous acts.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge Patrone stated: “Despite a prior conviction for conduct involving the sexual exploitation of a child, Jeffrey Hart again engaged in crimes that inflicted lasting harm on child victims and deeply wounded the sense of safety this community expects and deserves. Every image and video in this case represents a child who was abused, and every act of possession or distribution compounds that harm. Hart’s 210-month sentence is a serious consequence for a serious crime, and HSI Albany, together with the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and our law enforcement partners, will continue working relentlessly to dismantle the networks that enable child exploitation.”
In addition to the 210 months of imprisonment, United States District Court Judge Anne M. Nardacci imposed 15 years of supervised release and directed restitution to the victims of the offenses.
HSI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney A.J. Vickey prosecuted this case as 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.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York
USANYN-MediaInquiry@usa.doj.gov
