A former varsity coach in a Central New York school district pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Syracuse to multiple charges of receipt, transportation and possession of child pornography.
As part of his guilty plea, Joshua Demars admitted that he communicated with minors on the application Snapchat to receive images and videos of child pornography. Demars also admitted that he used his Dropbox account to upload a video of a 5 to 7-year-old female being sexually abused by an adult male. Moreover, Demars acknowledged that he possessed hundreds of videos and images of child pornography on several of his personal devices. At the time of the search warrant execution, Demars worked as a teaching assistant and coach in the Fulton City School District
Sentencing is scheduled for April 19, 2023, before Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes. Demars faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between five years and life, to begin after imprisonment. Demars will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
HSI, the NYSP Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the NYSP Troop D Computer Crimes Unit investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Tuck and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Carbone prosecuted Demars as part of Project Safe Childhood.
