Dustin Post

MAYVILLE — As the allegations go, Dustin Post would befriend moms with young children. As he built their trust, he was able to be alone with those children and sexually assault them. The ages of the victims ranged from 1 to 12 years old.

In at least one case, he recorded a sexual act with a child. He told her that his own son was kidnapped and the kidnappers needed him to record a video with her being assaulted, in order to get his own child to be released. That story was a lie, but the video was recorded and shared on the internet.

These are just some of the details that were revealed during a press conference Wednesday. Among those attending were District Attorney Jason Schmidt, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr., Mark LaMonte with the Department of Homeland Security, as well as representatives with the State Police, the county’s Child Advocacy Center, and the county’s Victims Assistance Center.

Post, 25, who lived in both Silver Creek and Fredonia, has already pleaded guilty to production and possession of child pornography. On those charges alone, he faces a 25- to 50-year sentence in prison. He’ll find out his prison term during sentencing in federal court that is set for Oct. 1.

Schmidt, meanwhile, unsealed a 24-count indictment against Post on Wednesday morning that included 11 separate crimes of predatory sexual assault against a child, nine separate crimes of first-degree criminal sexual act, and first-degree rape.

Photo by Gregory Bacon District Attorney Jason Schmidt speaks at the podium about the Dustin Post indictment. He is pictured with various state, local and federal law enforcement, all who played a role in Post’s indictment.

According to Schmidt, the crimes described are alleged to have been committed against multiple children in northern Chautauqua County.

They span the period between September 2015 and August 2019.

“On our charges, Mr. Post is facing imprisonment for the rest of his life,” said Schmidt, noting that the sentencing range on each count of predatory sexual assault of a child is an indeterminate period of incarceration in state prison for not less than 10 years to life, nor more than 25 years to life.

Schmidt, who was elected as the county district attorney in November, said it is his mission to put victims first and hold people accountable when they harm others.

“Where there is evidence of a crime, my office will fight for the victims of those crimes,” he said. “No segment of our community is more precious to us and more vulnerable to those who prey on the weak than children. We as a society are responsible for protecting our children who, often times, are defenseless and are most at risk of being abused.”

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt speaks at the podium.

Because Post is facing a number of charges and has not been convicted or pleaded guilty to the state level charges, Schmidt was cautious on what details he could share. He did say there are seven known victims and said Post knew every victim before he sexually assaulted them. “He didn’t pick on strangers,” Schmidt said.

Because Post has pleaded guilty to the five federal counts of production and possession of child pornography, Kennedy, who serves in the Western District of New York, was able to share details on that specific case, which involved at least one of the seven victims.

In November, 2019, state police received a complaint from a mother of an 8-year-old girl who had been abused the summer before. That led police to eventually being able to seize Post’s cell phone, laptop computer and four flash drives which contained multiple images and videos of child pornography. The federal Department of Justice was able to place charges against Post in February 2020.

Kennedy said in the summer of 2019 Post had assaulted a 12-year-old girl that he was babysitting. “The defendant told this young girl that his own 2-year-old son had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding that this defendant send him a video of the young girl performing oral sex on him, so that his son might get released. That of course was not true, but as a result of that conduct, the defendant produced two different videos which represent two counts of production in which the defendant has been convicted,” he said.

Kennedy called the two videos “very, very disturbing,” and said Post used them to trade for other videos of children being sexually assaulted, some of which included toddlers and sadomastic activities.

U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy of the Western District of New York announces that Post has pleaded guilty in federal court to production and possession of child pornography.

In the guilty plea entered in federal court, Kennedy said there was no deal cut. “There was no plea agreement, there was no plea bargain. He pled guilty to everything,” he said.

Kennedy applauded the federal, state and local police departments that worked together to get Post behind bars.

Schmidt praised the victims and their parents for their courage in sharing their stories with law enforcement. “No one wants to relive traumatic events. They do so in order that others do not experience what they have,” he said.

He also said there may be other victims as well. He invited individuals who are concerned Post may have harmed someone they know to contact his office directly at (716) 753-4241.