Charleroi Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Possessing, Producing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH, PA—A resident of Washington County, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison on his conviction of production of materials involving the sexual exploitation of a minor, and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Nathan D. Wheatley, 27.

According to information presented to the court, in September of 2009, Wheatley had online contact with two minor boys in California. The information further alleges that Wheatley persuaded and induced those boys to engage in sexually explicit conduct, while online, so that Wheatley could create a computer movie of that conduct.

Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wheatley.

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.