New York State Police have arrested a Sullivan County man and charged him with promoting and possessing a sexual performance by a child.
State police identified the suspect as Nicholas Coughlin, 22, of White Sulphur Springs.
Coughlin is accused of having access to several images that state police described as being consistent with child sexual exploitation.
He was arrested after the State Police Troop F Computer Crimes Unit investigated a cyber tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. That investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Coughlin’s residence on April 17.
As a result of that search, Coughlin was charged with one count each of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child less than 17 years of age and possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child less than 16 years of age, and three counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child less than 16 years of age, all felonies.
He was arraigned in Liberty Town Court on April 17 and sent to the Sullivan County jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail, $75,000 bond or $250,000 secured bond, pending an April 22 court appearance.
The name of Coughlin’s attorney was not immediately available.
The Troop F Computer Crimes Unit was assisted in the investigation by the Liberty barracks unit of the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Troop F Community Stabilization Unit, the State Police Special Operations Response Team, the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Sullivan County 22-year-old accused of child sexual exploitation
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
