Syracuse Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation and Distribution of Abuse Material

William Seneca, Sr., 65, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child and distribution of child sexual abuse material. The sentence, announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan, includes 15 years of supervised release following his prison term.

According to court documents and his prior guilty plea, Seneca admitted that between 2000 and 2008, he engaged in sexual conduct with a minor male child, beginning when the child was around seven years old. During that time, Seneca created sexually explicit images of the child and, on at least one occasion, distributed the material to a person in Canada.

In addition to the prison sentence and supervised release, Seneca was ordered to pay $1,141.14 in restitution to the victim. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative created by the Department of Justice in 2006 to combat child exploitation.