Man gets roughly 10 years in border child-porn case

A Quebec man will serve about 10 years in federal prison for having child pornography while crossing the international border at Fort Covington last November.

Gerald Aumais, 57, Chateauguay, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Albany before Judge Gary L. Sharpe to 121 months in prison and five years' post-release supervision. He pleaded guilty in February to transportation and possession of child pornography.

Mr. Aumais told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the crossing on Nov. 16 that he was heading to a hotel to conduct a week-long seminar on health and safety.

After being referred to a secondary inspection of his vehicle, officers allegedly found two laptop computers and a case containing 78 DVDs that were hand-labeled with what appeared to be pornographic titles.

A review of the material revealed suspected child pornography images and CBP called in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who confirmed the material was child pornography.