Schenectady sex offender accused of having child pornography

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

An online investigation led to the arrest of a Level 2 sex offender from Schenectady on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.

Paul Kearsing, 50, of Degraff Street, is now in federal custody, being held without bail.

He is accused of distributing three child pornography videos from his home computer over the Internet in December. Charges were filed last week in U.S. District Court in Albany.

The federal investigation that led to Kearsing began when a U.S. Homeland Security Investigations special agent used a software program used by individuals to transmit and download files from individual computers, according to papers filed in court. The agent focused on a list of Internet addresses identified by Internet Crimes Against Children investigators as recently broadcasting as a download candidate for suspected child pornography files in New York state. One of those Internet addresses was ultimately identified as Kearsing’s, according to papers.

From Dec. 5-14, the investigator then downloaded three child pornography videos from Kearsing’s address. In April, a Department of Homeland Security summons identified the user of that address as Kearsing.

Last Thursday, investigators executed a search warrant on Kearsing’s residence. He was then taken to the Schenectady Police Department, where he was questioned.

Kearsing allegedly admitted to recognizing each of the videos and admitted to downloading them. He also allegedly admitted to using the program for about two years and expressed familiarity with how it worked. He allegedly told investigators he moved some videos he did not want to share out of the program and deleted others.

Kearsing appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday and was ordered held. A preliminary hearing is set for later this month. He is represented by the federal public defender’s office.

In the case that originally put him on the sex offender registry, Kearsing admitted in 1992 to raping a 4-year-old girl. In exchange for his plea, which prosecutors at the time noted spared the child from going before a grand jury, Kearsing was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in prison.