GENESEE COUNTY/Youth Pastor charged with production of child pornography

Press release

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Nathan L. Rogers, 37, of East Aurora, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production of child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in July 2019, a mother contacted the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and stated that her 12-year-old daughter (Victim) attended a Christian music festival at Darien Lake with her church youth group. After going to the water park, the church’s youth pastor, the defendant, invited the Victim to change her wet clothes in his camper. After she finished changing, the Victim discovered an iPhone hidden in clothing on a ledge. The Victim looked at the iPhone and discovered it had been recording for about 13 minutes. After deleting the video of her changing, the Victim replaced the iPhone on the ledge. The Victim next discovered a second iPhone hidden in the sheets on the bed. She also deleted that video as well, replaced the device, and left the camper. The Victim called her mother to tell her what happened. The mother went to Darien Lake, picked up her daughter and contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Rogers was subsequently arrested, charged with Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree, convicted in Genesee County Court, and sentenced to five years’ probation in December 2020, with the first six months to be served in jail.

A review of the defendant’s cell phones recovered 24,017 picture files and 2,389 video files on the phone, some of which constituted child pornography.

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and is being detained.  

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of William A. Sheron, Jr.  

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.