Contractor accused of downloading child porn from device found in government building – WRGB

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by Stephanie Ryan
ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — A White Plains man is facing a felony charge, accused of downloading child porn from a device before turning it over to New York State Police.
On April 17, 2026, State Police of the Capital, with the assistance of the Troop G Computer Crimes Unit, arrested Hernando Lamela, 53, of White Plains, NY, on a charge of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, a class “E” felony.
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On November 11, 2025, Troopers received a report that a media storage device had been found by a contractor the previous day at a governmental building on Swan Street in Albany and discovered it contained images consistent with child sexual exploitation. The contractor’s supervisor turned the device over to Lamela, who was working as a construction superintendent for a subcontracted engineering firm. Lamela filed a report and turned the found device over to the State Police.
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The investigation determined that before turning the device over to the State Police, Lamela allegedly downloaded hundreds of videos consistent with child sexual exploitation from the device to his personal computer.
Lamela surrendered himself to SP Capital, where he was arrested and processed. He was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Albany City Court on May 8, 2026, and released.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.

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