Carbon County Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania resident who admitted to downloading and sharing images of child pornography was sentenced today to serve 10 years in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Eugene F. Hartzell previously pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography. Hartzell admitted to committing the crime during March through September 2010.

Hartzell was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 16, 2010, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including offices in Rochester, New York and Scranton.

Judge Kosik also ordered that Hartzell serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison sentence, and pay a special assessment of $100. Hartzell must also submit to sex offender treatment programs while in prison and comply with sex offender registration requirements when he is released from prison.

U.S. Attorney Smith noted that this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.