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Press Release

Easton, PA Man Charged with Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Scott Wayne, 58, of Easton, was charged this week by indictment with the distribution and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, Wayne possessed a computer hard drive which contained visual depictions that had been produced using materials that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in interstate and foreign commerce. The indictment alleges that the production of these visual depictions involved the use of a minor, including a prepubescent minor who had not attained 12 years of age, engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and the visual depictions were of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of forty years imprisonment, a mandatory minimum of five years imprisonment, a mandatory minimum of five years supervised release up to lifetime supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and $10,200 in special assessments. 

The case was investigated by the Bethlehem Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.

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 Attorney’s 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.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Updated December 20, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Childhood