A New York man was sentenced in federal court for sending images and videos of child pornography to a Liberty, Missouri man who in turn used them to harass the child victim.
Joseph J. Balio, 36, of Utica, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 13 years and nine months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Balio to spend the rest of his life on supervised release after incarceration.
On Aug. 5, 2020, Balio pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the internet. Balio admitted that he sent a video that contained child pornography to Zachary T. Harbison, 35, of Liberty, Mo., on Dec. 25, 2017. The video file depicted a sleeping minor.
Harbison pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography and was sentenced on Nov. 5, 2020, to nine years and four months in federal prison without parole. Harbison admitted that, on the same day he received the video and images of child pornography from Balio, he texted the minor victim and sent her pornographic images and a video file he had received from Balio.
According to court documents, the image and video files Balio shared with Harbison were used to harass and stalk the minor victim, as well as an adult victim.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Daly. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, and the Utica, N.Y., Police Department.
