Lawrence County Residents Indicted on Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

PITTSBURGH, PA – Two Lawrence County residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of attempted production, production, receipt, and distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a child, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

The three-count Indictment named David Bates, 61, of Ellwood City, PA 16117, and Tamara Kreitzer, 33, of New Castle, PA 16101, as defendants.

According to the Indictment, in or between July 2020 and October 2020, Bates and Kreitzer attempted to and did use, persuade, induce entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the minor. After the production of images, Kreitzer distributed the images of the minor to Bates.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 70 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants. The government has requested detention for both defendants.

Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.