California man pleads guilty to receiving child pornography and sending obscene material to minor

Nicholas John Stracner, 36, of California, pleaded guilty May 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of transfer of obscene material to an individual under 16 years of age.

The charges stemmed from Stracner receiving images and videos depicting minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He admitted to transferring obscene visual depictions to a person he believed to be a 15-year-old minor, according to the Department of Justice announcement.

Stracner faces a statutory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years on the child pornography count. The transfer of obscene material count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. A judge has not yet set a sentencing date. Upon release, Stracner will be required to register as a sex offender under federal law.

The case forms part of federal efforts to prosecute online exploitation of minors. The counts of conviction carry lifetime supervised release terms as authorized by statute. Stracner remains in custody pending sentencing.

This marks the latest guilty plea secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York in a child exploitation prosecution. Federal law requires a minimum 5-year term of imprisonment for receipt of child pornography when the visual depictions involve minors under 12.

The plea eliminates the need for trial and fixes the applicable sentencing guidelines range once the probation office completes its presentence investigation.

Congress set the current penalty structure under the PROTECT Act of 2003 and subsequent amendments that increased mandatory minimums for receipt offenses. The obscene material transfer statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1470, applies when matter is transferred to anyone under 16 with intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire.

Sentencing will occur under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which assign base offense levels determined by the number of images, the age of the minors depicted, and use of a computer.