Chautauqua County Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to New Charges

Jeffrey Paden, 57, of Kennedy, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to possession of illegal images of children after a prior conviction.

He now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years when he returns for sentencing on November 13.

Prosecutors said state police, acting on information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, executed a search warrant at Paden’s home on Aug. 29 and seized several electronic devices.

According to prosecutors, about 83 graphic images of children were found on a USB stick and about 468 others on a laptop. Some of these images showed scenes of violence against children.

Prosecutors said Paden was convicted of a similar federal charge in June 2015 and was sentenced to 57 months in prison, with five years of supervised release.