HARRISBURG—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that today a federal grand jury in Harrisburg returned an indictment against Jay Eugene Reed, age 55, a resident of Three Springs, Pennsylvania. The indictment charges Reed with production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and tampering with witnesses.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Reed was charged in July 2015 by the Pennsylvania State Police with sexually assaulting minors. During the investigation, the State Police seized a cell phone, a computer, and other electronic devices belonging to Reed from his residence pursuant to search warrants. The Indictment alleges that Reed both produced and possessed images of child pornography found on several of the seized devices. The Indictment also alleges that Reed attempted to tamper with a victim or witness by writing a letter asking the victim/witness not to talk to anyone about the case.

Reed has been detained in custody since July 9, 2015 as a result of the sexual assault charges.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Huntingdon County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith A. Taylor.

If you have any information regarding this case, please contact Special Agent Clifton Vikara, FBI, at 814-234-0341.

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.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.