Luzerne Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 28-year-old Luzerne resident was sentenced today to serve 10 years in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley for trafficking in child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Jeremy Steinruck previously admitted to downloading and trading images of child pornography on his computer during November 2007, to November 25, 2009.

Steinruck was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2010, following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Scranton Police, and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office.

Judge Munley also ordered Steinruck to be placed on supervised release for 15 years after he serves his prison sentence. Steinruck must also pay a $2000 fine, a special assessment of $100, and forfeit computers and computer-related material that were seized by agents from Steinruck’s residence.

Judge Munley noted that Steinruck would also undergo sex offender treatment and must register as a sex offender and comply with other sex offender registration requirements upon his release from prison.

U.S. Attorney Smith 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.

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