The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 49-year-old Dingmans Ferry resident pleaded guilty Tuesday to receiving and distributing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the defendant, Richard A. Lewis, was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2013 for using a computer to receive child pornography from a resident of Ontario, Canada, and distributing the child pornography to others during January 2013 to May 2013.
The charge against Lewis resulted from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigators and Ontario Provincial Police.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, if accepted by the court, Lewis will be sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. He will also be subject to the sex offender registration and notification requirements of federal law.
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 internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
