According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy…

According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Derrick O’Meara, Director of the Child Advocacy Center, a City of Utica man has been arrested for possessing child pornography.

On October 3, 2019, Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Investigator and ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force member C.J. Paravati, was assigned to this investigation regarding uploads of child pornography via the internet from a residence in the City of Utica. On December 18, 2019, a search warrant was executed in the City of Utica and numerous electronic devices were seized for examination.

The case was subsequently sent to the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office for Grand Jury. On December 17, 2021, after the case was presented to the Grand Jury, an indictment warrant was issued for Robert Plunkett, age 78, on six counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance of a Child, all E Felonies. Plunkett was located at his residence in the City of Utica by the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Unit and transported to the Sheriff’s Office for arrest processing.

After Plunkett was processed he was held at the Oneida County Jail pending an arraignment in Oneida County Court. After Plunkett’s arraignment he was held on no bail.

The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the Utica Police Department.