Nanticoke Man Sentenced to Six Years for Receiving Child Pornography

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 31-year old Nanticoke man was sentenced to six years in federal prison today by U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo for receiving child pornography during 2007.

Carlson stated that Michael Stofey previously admitted to downloading from his computer sexually explicit images of minors.

Stofey was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6, 2008, as a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Pennsylvania State Police. Stofey pleaded guilty to the offense in October 2008.

Judge Caputo also ordered that Stofey be placed on supervised release for 10 years after serving his prison sentence. Stofey must also pay a fine of $1,000 and a $100 special assessment.

Carlson noted that 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 Attorneys’ 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.

Carlson noted that the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.