Carlisle Resident Sentenced To 30 Year Prison Term For Child Abuse

     HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today in Harrisburg that Chief U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced Zachary Knight, of Carlisle to 30 years imprisonment for sexual abuse of a minor.

     According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Knight, age 20, pleaded guilty in April 2015 to charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor and production of child pornography.  The plea was entered pursuant to a plea agreement.

     Knight, a resident of a housing area at the U.S. Army War College, was taken into custody by HSI special agents on May 9, 2014.  Chief Judge Conner ordered that the 30-year sentenced imposed today will be followed by 25 years of supervised release during which Knight will have restrictions on his contact with minors and his computer use and will be prohibited from contact of any kind with the victim or the victim’s family.  According to the government’s evidence, Knight committed the crimes while providing babysitting services for the victim’s family.  The evidence included videos Knight made of his abusive acts involving the minor.

     The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) inter-agency child exploitation task force, with assistance from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James T. Clancy.

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