Meadville Resident Indicted on Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Meadville, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The three-count Indictment named Nathan L. Troup, 40, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment presented to the court, Troup attempted to induce, entice and persuade an undercover investigator posing as a fifteen year old male to engage in illegal sexual activity and then traveled to Ohio for the purpose of meeting the purported fifteen year old for illegal sexual activity. Troup also sent pictures of his exposed penis to the undercover investigator posing as a fifteen year old.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of life imprisonment, 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 defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this 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 (CEOS), 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.

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