Sex Offender Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 156 months imprisonment, followed by a term of lifetime supervised release, on a charge of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Robert Roy Hegner, age 67, of Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, on August 25, 2016, Hegner possessed images and videos in computer graphic files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years of age. Hegner was previously convicted of Indecent Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Corruption of Minors and Sexual Abuse of Children (F3) in a 1999 case and at the time of this offense was a Megan’s Law Offender.

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County District Attorney Investigations Unit, and the Allegheny County Police Department for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hegner.

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.