Former CNY Psych Center patient sentenced on child exploitation charges

SYRACUSE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — A former patient of the Marcy Psychiatric Center was sentenced in federal court on child pornography charges on Thursday, April 18.

54-year-old David VanHousen of Newark Valley, New York, pled guilty in December to federal charges of possession of child pornography.

As part of that guilty plea, VanHousen — who was civilly committed to the Central New York Psychiatric Center in Marcy at the time — admitted to possessing numerous images and videos of child pornography on a contraband cell phone.

VanHousen had previously been convicted in federal court in 2001 of Sexual Misconduct and third-degree Rape in New York State. He had also been convicted of Transportation of Child Pornography in Federal Court.

On Thursday, United States District Court Judge Glenn Suddaby sentenced VanHousen to 13 years and four months in federal prison.

Suddaby also ordered VanHousen to serve a life sentence of supervised release. VanHousen will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

The case had been investigated by the FBI Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, which is comprised of FBI Special Agents and investigators from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of the New York State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Adrian LaRochelle and Jessica Carbone as part of Project Safe Childhood.

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