Northern District of New York | Albany County man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of a child

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Thomas Berrington, age 33, of Colonie, New York, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, announced by United States Attorneys Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli , the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Albany Field Office.

As part of his guilty plea yesterday, Berrington admitted that he repeatedly sexually abused an underage female child between June 2023 and January 2024 for the purpose of photographing and videotaping the abuse. The victim was eight years old when Berrington abused her.

At sentencing, currently scheduled for January 30, 2025, in Albany New York, Berrington faces a prison sentence of 15 to 60 years, a term of post-release supervision of 5 years to life, and a fine of up to $250,000. Berrington will also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim, forfeit the device used in the crime and be required to register as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, consisting of FBI special agents and state and local police investigators, including from the New York State Police and the Colonie Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006, Project Safe Childhood is led by the Attorney General’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood uses federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute victims. individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.