PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 48 months imprisonment to be served concurrently, followed by a lifetime supervised release, on two charges of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Robert James Grace, Jr., age 49, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, on or about Feb. 23, 2016, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Grace, Jr. knowingly possessed images in computer graphic files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years of age. Grace, Jr. also possessed child pornography, from a date unknown and continuing until May 12, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona.
Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting U.S. Attorney Song commended the Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Grace.
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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
