PITTSBURGH, PA — A former resident of Perryopolis, PA, was sentenced in federal court to a total of 276 months imprisonment, which equals 23 years, on his conviction for seven counts of child sexual exploitation. The charges included the production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of such material, and transportation and attempted transportation of such material. The sentence was announced on Thursday, December 7, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon ordered a period of 25 years of supervised release following the defendant’s incarceration. She also ordered that the defendant pay restitution totaling $61,000 to his minor victims.
According to the court, the defendant induced a minor known to him to shower and change in a bathroom where he secretly recorded the minor on three separate occasions in 2020-2021. He stored one of these videos on a thumb drive, which also contained hundreds of other videos of child sexual abuse material, including videos that depicted prepubescent minors, toddlers, and babies being sexually abused. In addition, the defendant transferred the videos he created to a Dropbox account, along with another video of an unknown minor showering and changing. At the time of this criminal conduct, the defendant was employed by the Pennsylvania State Police as a Corporal. Law enforcement recovered the thumb drive from the lapel pocket of the defendant’s Pennsylvania State Police uniform.
While sentencing the defendant, Judge Bissoon acknowledged the pain and harm caused by the defendant to all of his victims. She stated that the defendant is a danger to society.
United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan said, “The defendant betrayed his oath as a sworn law enforcement officer and victimized the very children he was sworn to protect. His conduct represents the most disturbing betrayal of trust, and today’s sentence provides more proof that this office and our partners in law enforcement will bring the full force of federal law to seek justice for child sexual abuse victims.”
HSI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker added, “Today’s sentence is a warning to all would-be predators that our law enforcement agencies continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute to the fullest extent those who harm children. This is especially true when the perpetrator of these horrific crimes is a law enforcement officer.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi M. Grogan prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations – Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State Police.
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