West Point Staff Sergeant Caught With Child Porn

A West Point Staff Sergeant is heading to prison for child porn possession.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that 40-year-old Patrick Edwin Gorychka was sentenced for possessing child pornography. He pleaded guilty in May 2022.

Former West Point Staff Sergeant Sentenced For Possession Of Child Pornography

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Gorychka, a former West Point Staff Sergeant from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 42 months in prison.

“The availability of child pornography spread through chatrooms and discreet websites is every modern parent’s worst nightmare. This Office will continue to prioritize protecting our most vulnerable citizens, children, from this kind of exploitation," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

According to Court Proceedings:

In October 2019, The FBI received information from an FBI Online Undercover Employee (“UC-1”) concerning UC-1’s communications with an individual who was later identified as Gorychka, a former West Point Staff Sergeant.

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The two talked in a Kik chat room known to be frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children, officials say.

The undercover agent said he was a 48-year-old uncle who had engaged in sex acts with his niece.

Gorychka asked to see the photos. The undercover agent also told Gorychka he met a “pedo mom” (“UC-2”) in New York and that “she keeps kids of illegals while they work for a couple weeks” and “makes some $ on the side.” Gorychka stated, “Omg that’s hot” and asked UC-1 to connect him to UC-2.

During talks with the second undercover agent, Gorychka said he was interested in “preteens” and told UC-2, “I heard that you could potentially facilitate certain things.” Gorychka said that he was interested in a “similar setup” as UC-1 and told UC-2, “I have money.”

On November 2, 2019, Gorychka uploaded links that contained numerous images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit activity, officials say.

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