On November 26, 2024, Tyreik Blackmon aka “Elise” (3/8/1994), a resident of the City of Schenectady, pled guilty to two counts of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child as a Sexually Motivated Felony, class D felonies, in violation of New York State Penal Law Sections 263.15 and 130.91(1). Mr. Blackmon pled guilty to sending a sexually explicit video and image of a child less than seventeen years old engaging in sexual conduct to another person that he was chatting with on an online dating application. Mr. Blackmon pled guilty to sending the video and image on or about November 2, 2023. The defendant will receive a sentence of seven [7] years in prison on each count, the maximum prison term allowed by law for these crimes. In addition to the prison sentence based upon the plea agreement, Mr. Blackmon will serve ten [10] years of post-release supervision, commonly referred to as parole, also the maximum period of parole allowed by law for these crimes. The sentences will run concurrently. The pleas to these two counts, cover the remaining nine [9] counts of the indictment that charged Mr. Blackmon with Possession of a Sexual Performance of a Child, for possessing images of child pornography taken from the internet on his cell phone. Mr. Blackmon will be required to register as a sex offender upon the completion of his prison term and a full order of protection will be issued for the child victim, who was known to Mr. Blackmon. There was insufficient evidence to determine the identity of the individual who was engaged with sexual activity with the child in the video. Mr. Blackmon is scheduled to be sentenced in Schenectady County Court by Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski on January 28, 2025.
The investigation into Mr. Blackmon’s possession and sharing of sexually explicit images of a child began on November 3, 2023, when a Good Samaritan civilian contacted law enforcement. The Good Samaritan informed law enforcement that he had met another user of an online dating application and when discussing the possibility of meeting for a date, the other user had sent him a video and image of child sexual abuse material. After the Good Samaritan came forward, investigators from the Schenectady Police Department’s Youth Aid Bureau, with assistance from the FBI joint federal and local Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, used investigative techniques to determine the location and identity of the sender of the video and image. The dating application screen name and the IP address that was used to send the child exploitation materials came back to accounts associated with Mr. Blackmon. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed on Mr. Blackmon’s residence, during which electronic devices were seized. The New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit analyzed the contents of the device and located additional images of child exploitation materials on Mr. Blackmon’s cell phone. The State Police Investigator with the assistance of Schenectady County District Attorney's Office Crime Analyst Justin Colarossi established the dates and websites that the additional images of child pornography came from. Additionally, Schenectady County District Attorney’s staff at the Child Advocacy Center worked with members of Schenectady County Child Protective Services and local school districts to identify the child contained in the video and image that Mr. Blackmon had shared. The child was ultimately located, and Schenectady County Child Protective Services was then able to take steps to ensure the child’s safety going forward.
District Attorney Robert M. Carney stated that: “This horrible exploitation of a young child was extensively investigated by members of several law enforcement agencies working together to identify both the child and the perpetrator. These cases require extreme commitments of resources and time. All of the agencies dedicated these resources in this case and because they did, we were able to protect this child, end the exploitation, and punish the perpetrator. I applaud their collective efforts.”
The People were represented by Special Victim Bureau Chief ADA John J. Carson. Mr. Blackmon was represented attorney Mark Juda, of the Juda Law Office, PLLC, who was assigned by the court to represent the defendant. Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski presided