Buffalo Diocese priest charged with receipt and possession of child pornography

By Julia Soluri

Posted 6:28 PM, Jul 08, 2026

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The U.S. Attorney's Office says a Diocese of Buffalo priest has been charged by criminal complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography.

NOTE: Go to the link to see the video included in the article which has many of the details of this case. 

The criminal complaint states that 46-year-old Jeffrey Nowak of Lackawanna was placed on administrative leave in August 2019 after an investigation into inappropriate contact with children and harassment of a seminarian.

Later that year, investigators found his email address, "pigboybuffalo@gmail.com," allegedly accessed a New Zealand cloud-based digital storage site with videos and photos of sexually exploited children. But a search warrant executed by the FBI in May 2021 did not find any child pornography, so the case was closed.

Go to link above to watch this video:

WATCH: I-TEAM: Bishop Malone accused of 'cover-up' with active Buffalo Diocese priest

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI Criminal Division's Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Section, Child Exploitation Operational Unit (CEOU), received new information from Scotland law enforcement in late 2025 that linked Nowak, "PigBoy666," to a group where child pornography was shared during group Zoom calls. As a result, his investigation was reopened in March 2026.

A search warrant was executed at Nowak's home, and multiple electronic devices were seized, allegedly containing videos of child pornography.

The diocese released the following statement to 7 News on Thursday:

“Jeffrey Nowak was placed on permanent leave in 2019 and has not been permitted to function as a priest since then. We are not aware of any attempt by law-enforcement officials to contact the diocese regarding these allegations. In fact, the diocese has just learned of the allegations against him and will cooperate fully with any inquiry by law enforcement officials.”