South African man sentenced to 12 years in federal prison

A 45-year-old South African man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in Albany after admitting to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, the submission reported. The man admitted using a social networking app to send multiple videos to another user he believed was 13 years old, but who was actually an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent.

The man was arrested in March 2025. The source material said he will serve five years of supervised release, register as a sex offender and pay $21,000 in restitution. He is also expected to face deportation proceedings after his prison term. His arrest was followed by an immigration operation at North Harbor Dairy Farm in Sackets Harbor that led to protests after a mother and three school-aged children were detained and later released.