NYC Corrections Officer From LI Sentenced On Child Porn Charges

On Friday, a Long Island man who worked as an investigator for the New York City Department of Corrections was sentenced to a decade in prison on child pornography charges.

Fernando Clarke, 64, of East Meadow, was found guilty in March of seven counts of transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison and has to pay a $13,682.43 fine, a special assessment of $5,600 and five years of post-release supervision. In addition, he must register as a sex offender.

By June 1, the court will rule on a restitution request from one of the victims that was depicted in the child pornography that Clarke collected.

“As the trial established, Clarke collected child pornography at his home for years, using a peer-to-peer file sharing system that allowed others to download child pornography from him,” stated United States Attorney Richard Donoghue. “When his crimes came to light, Clarke lied and attempted to hide behind his badge, claiming that he had accessed child pornography for his job as an investigator for the New York City Department of Correction. This office is committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting consumers of child pornography.”

According to prosecutors, Clarke downloaded thousands of video files of the sexual abuse of pre-teen children, which he kept on computer equipment in his home. During a court-ordered search of his home on July 28, 2015, Clarke initially claimed that he was downloading child pornography in connection with his employment as a Department of Correction investigator. Clarke subsequently admitted during the search that
he was not authorized to access or download child pornography for his employment. Clarke was fired from the Department of Corrections after his conviction.

“For years, and while entrusted to serve and protect society, Fernando Clarke compiled and shared thousands of images and videos of children being sexually abused and exploited,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan. “With every horrific file Clarke downloaded or shared with others, he compounded the unspeakable harm endured by these vulnerable victims. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our dedicated law enforcement partners and federal prosecutors, Clarke is now being held accountable for his crimes.”

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