Export Man Sentenced to Prison for Threatening Federal Agent, Possessing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 38 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, as well as ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, on his conviction of threatening to murder, intimidate, interfere, or retaliate against a federal official and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Todd Markley, 49, formerly of 5814 Torrance Drive, Export, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, on or about May 31, 2012, Markley sent an e-mail threatening to assault and murder a United States postal inspector of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, and retaliate against the postal inspector while she was engaged in her official duties. In addition, on or about April 12, 2012, Markley possessed visual depictions, namely, images in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone stated that “everyday of [the imposed sentence] is warranted because of the heinous language used in that threatening communication.”

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Markley.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.