A 57-year-old Essex County man is facing dozens of state charges and a federal charge following a child exploitation investigation conducted by the New York State Police and federal authorities.
According to New York State Police, investigators with the Troop B Computer Crime Unit, working alongside the State Police Special Operations Response Team (SORT), Homeland Security Investigations in Rouses Point, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, arrested Albert Leon of Jay on June 23.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Leon’s residence as part of an investigation into the alleged promotion and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Leon is charged with numerous felonies stemming from alleged offenses in the City of Plattsburgh and the towns of Chesterfield and Jay. The charges include multiple counts of possessing and promoting obscene performances by a child, possessing and promoting sexual performances by a child, and misdemeanor obscenity charges.
In total, investigators charged Leon with:
- 15 counts of promoting an obscene performance by a child
- 15 counts of possessing an obscene performance by a child
- 12 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child
- 12 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child
- Two misdemeanor counts of obscenity
In addition to the state charges, Leon was arrested on a federal charge of transportation of child pornography under federal law.
Leon was arraigned in Elizabethtown Town Court and remanded to the Essex County Jail.
The investigation remains active and is being conducted jointly by the New York State Police and Homeland Security Investigations.
According to multiple published reports, Leon retired as an Essex County Sheriff’s Office sergeant two years ago.
