John Peterson, 42, of Jamestown was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with distribution and possession of child pornography by a person with a prior child pornography conviction, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A.C. Penrose, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in June 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip from the messaging app Kik that two files of suspected child pornography were uploaded between June 14 and June 16, 2025. The files were uploaded with the username “hardinny41_mkc” and were shared with other Kik users. On July 5, 2025, NCMEC received another CyberTip from Kik that a file of suspected child pornography was uploaded on June 28, 2025 by someone with the username, hardinny4_mf7″ and had also been shared with other Kik users. Subsequent investigation traced the uploaded files to Peterson. On December 3, 2025, investigators executed a search warrant on Peterson, seizing his cell phone. A forensic analysis identified approximately nine image files and five video files of suspected child sexual abuse material. Some of the images included infants, toddlers, and prepubescent children.

Peterson is a level 1 sex offender following a 2010 misdemeanor conviction in Carroll Town Court for attempted possessing a sexual performance by a child less than 10 years of age. According to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, a level 1 designation is for those deemed low-risk of reoffense and does not require public disclosure on the state sex offender registry.

He was subsequently convicted in 2023 in Chautauqua County Court of possessing a sexual performance by a child less than 10 years of age and criminal possession of a firearm. New York State Police alleged Peterson had allegedly uploaded multiple pornographic files of underage children to electronic devices Peterson owned from December 2020 through March 2022. A search warrant was executed during which troopers seized a deserialized 9MM handgun and two electronic devices that troopers said included child pornography images.

Peterson made an initial appearance Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and held pending a detention hearing on April 2. The complaint is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto.