Johnstown Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Producing Child Pornography

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A resident of Johnstown, Pa, has been sentenced in federal court to 360 months in prison and supervised release for life on his conviction of producing child pornography, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Stephen J. Goniea, 47.

According to information presented to the court, from 2008 to Aug. 2011 Goniea produced visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct using materials that had been mailed, shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Southwest Computer Crime Task Force of the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Goniea.

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 Attorney's 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.