WHITE PLAINS – A former Mount Pleasant Police chief was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
Brian Fanelli, 56, pled guilty in July 2015 to one count of possession and was also sentenced on Wednesday to five years of supervised release and to forfeit his computer and hard drives, which were used to commit the crime.
According to materials submitted with the sentencing, from at least as early as October 2013 through January 2014, Fanelli used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download more than 120 files with images and videos believed to be child pornography, many of which contained depictions of graphic sexual abuse of young, pre-pubescent victims.
During the course of his criminal conduct, in addition to serving as police chief, Fanelli taught classes to children about sexual abuse awareness.
