The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced July 15, 2026 that Marcus Elliott, 40, of Amherst, N.Y., was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release after a conviction for receipt of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo imposed the sentence, the office said. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Elliott began communicating in September 2020 with a 12-year-old female via Snapchat. The minor took a sexually explicit photograph and sent it to Elliott; following a disclosure by the victim, investigators searched Elliott’s cellphone in June 2025 and recovered the image.
The office says Elliott admitted he engaged in sexual activity with the minor on one occasion and requested that she produce child pornography on other occasions.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango. The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis II), with assistance from the West Seneca Police Department and the Amherst Police Department, the release states.
This account is based on a U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York press release dated July 15, 2026.
