Bloomsburg Man Indicted For Attempted Production Of Child Pornography And Attempted Enticement Of Minors For Sex

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that David Dewald, age 40, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of attempted production of child pornography, and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the indictment alleges that Dewald attempted to persuade and entice two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual image of such conduct, and enticed, persuaded and attempted to entice and persuade three minors to engage in illegal sexual activity between July 2015 and May 2016.

If convicted of the charges, Dewald faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the child pornography charges, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of life in prison for the enticement and attempted enticement of a minor charges.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Delaware County Detectives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

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.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for the enticement of a minor offenses is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The maximum penalty under federal law for the child pornography offenses is 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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