Blogger pleads guilty to child porn charges

Albany Times-Union/January 26, 2015

By Robert Gavin

Albany --The former writer of a heavily critical blog called "Saratoga in Decline" pleaded guilty Monday to federal child pornography charges in U.S. District Court.

John J. Tighe, 57, of Milton, faces at least a mandatory five years in prison — and could face up to nine more years under federal sentencing guidelines.

Tighe admitted he received and possessed 400 video files and more than 40,000 images of child pornography on his home computer. Female victims — some as young as age 6 — were forced to have sex with men on the material that Tighe obtained for viewing purposes, prosecutors said.

"Is that what you did?" Senior Judge Thomas McAvoy, based in Binghamton, asked Tighe, watching via videoconference from U.S. District Court in Albany.

"Yes," Tighe replied.

Several members of Tighe's family attended the proceeding.

Tighe operated a blog that almost daily blasted the elected and public officials in Saratoga Springs, but eventually he became the story.

Court papers show that in April 2012, State Police launched a probe into the unauthorized access to computer systems owned by NXIVM, a Colonie-based self-improvement organization. On Oct. 23, 2013, police seized evidence at Tighe's home that included computers, external hard drives and thumb drives.

At the time, Tighe asked State Police Investigator Rodger Kirsopp: "Can I get in trouble for anything else on those computers other than NXIVM?"

Kirsopp said it was possible.

"All the computer stuff is mine. My wife doesn't know anything about computer stuff," Tighe told Kirsopp. "She has no knowledge of what is on there. I gave her the small laptop upstairs for her to look at stuff on."

Police found the child pornography.

In November, Tighe pleaded guilty to felony computer trespass for intentionally accessing the computer network of NXIVM, which had been housed on the seventh floor of 80 State St. in Albany. Tighe admitted he used the user name and password of a former NXIVM coach without her permission to access the list of NXIVM participants and clients, including their contact information.

Tighe will remain free on $25,000 bail until his sentencing on June 8.

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