PITTSBURGH - A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 60 months imprisonment, followed by five years supervised release, on a charge 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 sentenced on Lance G. Gehring, age 48, of Neville Township, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, on March 10, 2016, Gehring knowingly possessed and knowingly accessed with intent to view 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.
Assistant United States Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gehring.
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
