Broadalbin man gets 12 years for child sex abuse image charge

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- A Broadalbin man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for having a single child sex abuse image while on probation. According to the United States Department of Justice, Damian Quillinan, 50, was on probation for a previous child sex abuse image case when he received new charges in September.

"One image is all it takes," said U.S. Attorney John Sarcone.

In January, Quillinan admitted to having child sex abuse images and violating the terms of his probation by having the image and for having unauthorized internet-capable devices. The United States Attorney's Office said after he was released from jail in January 2024 for a previous 2017 conviction, he changed a video of a prepubescent minor he got over the internet to create a lewd and overly sexual image.

Officials said he then had the video and image on a tablet until it was taken by police during a search in September 2024.

Quillinan is on the New York State sex offender registry, as a level 2 offender, from the 2017 conviction. In New York State, a registered sex offender is banned from using the internet if the internet was used for the crime.

"The defendant, a registered sex offender, exploited technology for his own perverse desires and explicit crimes," HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said.

In the beginning of the month, Quillinan was sentenced to 10 years for the new conviction and a consecutive two years for violating the terms of his release. He was also ordered to give up the tablet used, to serve 20 years of probation after his release and will be required to continue to register as a sex offender.

The case against Quillinan was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Clark under Project Safe Childhood. Project Safe Childhood is designed to marshal federal, local and state resources to better locate, arrest and prosecute child exploiters on the internet.