Pittsburgh Man Charged with Producing Child Pornography, Sex Trafficking of a Child
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 19, 2012 |
PITTSBURGH—A resident of Allegheny County has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and sex trafficking of a child, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The three-count superseding indictment named William Miller, 37, formerly of 1507 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.
According to the superseding indictment, in and around January 2012, and on or about February 6, 2012, Miller employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor, Jane Doe, for the purpose of producing visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct, namely, a digital video and images. The superseding indictment also charges that from in and around December 2011, to on or about February 10, 2012, Miller knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided and obtained a minor, Jane Doe, to engage in a commercial sex act.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of life imprisonment, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the city of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation leading to the superseding indictment in this case.
A superseding indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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.justice.gov/psc.