Grove City Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Mercer County, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 48 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years’ supervised release, on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on James Matthew Wilson, 36, of Grove City, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, on July 16, 2010, Wilson possessed visual depictions, namely, images and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wilson.

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