Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH—An Indiana, Pennsylvania resident has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months in prison, to be followed by 12 years of supervised release, on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Christopher Murdock, 27, of South 5th Street, Indiana, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, on or about November 17, 2012, Murdock possessed visual depictions, namely, videos and images in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Murdock.

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.