A Mechanicville man convicted of producing child pornography will get an additional 50 years in state prison, on top of a federal sentence he was given on Friday.
Robert V. McLaughlin, 58, of Saratoga Avenue, Mechanicville, was sentenced Monday by acting Saratoga County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski to 25 years each on two counts of first-degree criminal sex act, with the sentences to be consecutive.
Sypniewski then directed that the 50 years’ sentence be consecutive with the federal sentence McLaughlin received on Friday, meaning his total prison sentence comes to 110 years behind bars. In the unlikely event he completes that sentence, he would still face 20 years of post-release supervision, Sypniewski ruled.
McLaughlin was accused of making “visual depictions” of pornography between 2012 and 2014 with girls who were ages 7 and 8. He was arrested last year following an investigation initiated by New York state police in Clifton Park, an investigation that eventually involved federal authorities.
District Attorney Karen A. Heggen said the sentence in County Court holds McLaughlin responsible for the actual criminal acts that occurred in Saratoga County, which he put on video.
During the court proceeding, the mother of one of the victims said McLaughlin had worked to gain her trust, and that he then violated the trust she placed on him regarding her daughter. She said he daughter has shown strength as she “makes strides” through counseling.
“Judge Sypniewski got it right today when he sentenced Robert McLaughlin to the maximum sentence allowed by law,” Heggen said. “This defendant abused a position of trust and the judge’s sentence today should ensure that he will never again have contact with any young people.”
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
