Lake Ariel Man Sentenced for Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Lake Ariel man was sentenced today in federal court on a charge of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, United States District Court Senior Judge A. Richard Caputo sentenced Keith Wandel, age 42, of Lake Ariel, Lackawanna County, to 210 months of imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release. Wandel is also ordered to comply with the registration requirements of the Sexual Offender Registration Act (Adam Walsh Act).

Wandel was arrested on March 12, 2013, and charged with the receipt and distribution of child pornography. The criminal Information sets the time period for the offenses at various times between January 2007 and March 2013.

The case against Wandel stems from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Wandel received and shared child pornography images and videos. A forensic examination of Wandel’s computer revealed thousands of the images and videos.

The 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.justice.gov/psc.

Prosecution was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.