45°
WHITE PLAINS, NY. -- Brian Fanelli, the former Mount Pleasant police chief, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Wednesday afternoon on a federal child-pornography charge.
The 56-year-old native of Valhalla, who was not fined, is expected to voluntarily surrender to prison on April 20.
He will be subject to five years supervised probation and must register as a sex offender.
Fanelli spoke for 10 minutes before his sentencing saying he feels remorse every day and that he recognized "it's not a victimless crime."
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas told Fanelli because Fanelli served in law enforcement he was being held to a higher standard.
Fanelli's defense lawyer, Michael Burke, elaborated on his Dec. 31 letter to Karas that asked that his client not serve any prison time on the charge.
Fanelli was arrested in January 2014, three months after he was promoted to Mount Pleasant police chief where he served for 32 years. Federal agents who previously downloaded three videos and other files they believed contained child pornography raided his Mahopac home, seizing computers.
A wider investigation of shared Internet files led to 70 additional arrests including a New York City rabbi and a Little League coach who also served as a Boy Scout leader.
Fanelli has been on house detention since his release from jail on $50,000 bail in 2014. He has a right to appeal Wednesday's sentence by Jan. 20.
Burke said Fanelli was never in trouble before his arrest and has been receiving intensive psychosexual counseling which the lawyer argued will be interrupted if Fanelli is imprisoned.
A break in Fanelli's treatment will have a detrimental impact on his mental health, limit his access to supportive family members and thwart his rehabilitation, Burke argued, while recommending a sentence of home confinement and probation.
Burke even suggested that the judge increase Fanelli's maximum fines in exchange for no prison time, but Karas said he did not think Fanelli could afford any fine. Fanelli faced fines of up to $250,000.
In July, Fanelli pleaded guilty to one count of possession of pornography. In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors agreed not to seek a sentence of longer than four years, three months in prison. The maximum sentence is 10 years.
He was accused of using a peer-to-peer file sharing Internet network to download more than 120 files suspected to contain pornography involving children as young as seven years old. Homeland Security agents reportedly downloaded three videos from a remote location -- containing about 225 pornographic images of children as young as 12.
Karas acknowledged that federal agents found no pornography on Fanelli's computer or flash drives while executing a search warrant but said there was evidence Fanelli "may have covered his tracks" by having files on the hard drive erased with town-provided anti-virus software.
Burke said Fanelli's therapy evaluations found him to be a "low risk" to repeat an offense. Nonetheless, Karas ordered Fanelli not to come in contact with anyone under 18 years old. The White Plains courtroom was filled with about 50 people including a couple dozen family supporters including Fanelli's wife, son and sister.
Included in his court papers are evaluations from therapists, letters from family members, former police officers and neighbors attesting to Fanelli's character and asking for leniency. Karas said every letter reflected positively on Fanelli's lifelong commitment to helping others.
Return to Daily Voice for more.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Armonk and receive free news updates.
