CORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Six months after a Cortland man convicted of possessing child pornography skipped sentencing, city police are looking for new tips about his whereabouts.
The Cortland Police Department posted a wanted poster of Michael Earl Marks Friday on its Facebook page in the hopes of generating new leads, said Lt. David Guerrera on Monday.
Marks confessed in a signed statement to Sgt. Dan Edwards almost two years ago, on June 27, 2018, that he downloaded 80 to 90 images of child pornography onto his cell phone, according to the court papers. The State Police Computer Crimes Unit discovered 180 images on his phone, the papers note. A Cortland County Grand Jury indicted Marks on 11 counts of felony possessing a sexual performance by a child on May 10, 2019 and was scheduled to face trial Oct. 29, 2019, the papers show. After Judge Julie Campbell denied pretrial motions to dismiss the indictment and suppress the cell phone evidence, Marks pled guilty in October to one felony count as part of a plea deal for a sentence of one to three in state prison, according to court documents.
But Marks never arrived for his sentencing in January.
Despite being present in the Courthouse for his Jan. 2 sentencing, Marks left against the advice of his public defender and left, Campbell stated for the court record in January. After he failed to appear again a week later, Campbell issued a warrant for Marks.
Marks was still a fugitive as of Tuesday afternoon, said Lt. Michael Strangeway in a phone interview.
Police have received tips that he is staying with family in Whitney Point and have forwarded the information to the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, said Guerrera on Monday. Marks also has family in New York City that he may run to, he added.
“I imagine we’ll run across him at some point,” Guerrera said, urging anyone with information to contact the Cortland Police Department at 607-753-3001.
The wanted poster describes Marks as a 29-year-old white man, 6 foot tall, weighing 220 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a tattoo on his lower left arm that reads “Mikey” and another on his right shoulder that reads “No love lost, no love found.” He also has a cross tattoo on his upper right arm. A fourth tattoo on his left shoulder was not described in the poster.
In addition to the child pornography charges, Marks is also wanted for felony burglary of a dwelling and misdemeanor obstructing governmental administration, as well as criminal impersonation, endangering and harassment.
Information regarding those additional charges and Marks’ bail status before he fled were not available this afternoon. However, the charges do not stem from additional crimes prosecuted in Cortland County Court, according to court documents.
The maximum sentence for one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child is four years, according to the state penal law.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received 65 million reports of child pornography, or child sex abuse material, since 1998. The center has also reviewed 312 million images and helped police identify 18,900 children being sexually assaulted in the pornography, according to its website.
“It’s important to remember CSAM consists of much more than just images and video files,” the website cautions. “While CSAM is seen and transmitted on computers and through other technology, these images and videos depict actual crimes being committed against children.”
To report child pornography to the center, leave a tip at https://report.cybertip.org/.
