Schoharie County man sentenced to over 16 years in prison for child pornography

A 62-year-old Schoharie County man was sentenced on Thursday to over 16 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

John C. Hotaling, of Esperance, had previously admitted he possessed pornographic images in 2020. Some of the images he created by photoshopping the faces of children onto nude adult bodies engaged in sexually explicit activity, which is a process known as morphing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Hotaling was sentenced to 14 years and eight months on these charges. He was on supervised release at the time for a 2009 conviction for engaging in the same conduct. He was sentenced to an additional 12 months in prison for the probation violation.

Hotaling will be on lifetime supervised release when he gets out of prison. He must also register as a sex offender.