Buffalo priest Jeffrey Nowak was charged with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material after an FBI investigation.

A Catholic priest from western New York who has been on administrative leave since 2019 has been arrested on federal charges alleging the receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York announced on July 8, 2026, that Jeffrey Nowak, 46, of Lackawanna, New York, was arrested following an FBI investigation. A criminal complaint charges him with receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). If convicted on the receipt charge, Nowak faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years.

According to federal prosecutors, Nowak was placed on administrative leave from the Diocese of Buffalo in August 2019 after allegations involving inappropriate contact with children and the harassment of a seminarian. During that same year, investigators identified an email account allegedly linked to Nowak that had accessed a New Zealand-based cloud storage service containing files depicting the sexual abuse of children.

The FBI executed a search warrant related to the email account in May 2021, but investigators said no child sexual abuse material was found at the time. The investigation was later closed in July 2023 after no additional evidence was uncovered.

The case was reopened after the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Section received information from Scottish law enforcement in 2025. According to prosecutors, the referral involved a Telegram group whose members allegedly participated in Zoom calls where child sexual abuse material was viewed and shared. Investigators traced one of the participants to the username “PigBoy666,” which they allege belonged to Nowak.

On July 8, 2026, federal agents searched Nowak’s residence in Lackawanna, seizing multiple electronic devices, including a laptop, cell phone, iPad and a USB storage device. Prosecutors said an initial forensic review uncovered several folders containing videos depicting child sexual abuse material. Investigators also recovered suspected narcotics during the search.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said the case demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement to investigating crimes involving the exploitation of children, while Allen D. Davis II, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office, said child sexual abuse investigations remain among the bureau’s highest priorities and stressed that no one is above the law.

Nowak made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer on July 9, 2026. The investigation is being led by the FBI, with assistance from the New York State Police and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango.

Federal authorities emphasized that the criminal complaint contains allegations only. Nowak is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Buffalo Priest Charged in Child Abuse Material Case