PITTSBURGH—An Allegheny county resident has been sentenced in federal court to 57 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 15 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 Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Eric Roller, 49.

According to information presented to the court, on or about Feb. 22, 2013, Roller 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Roller.

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.