Youngwood Child Porn Possessor Sentenced To 6 Years, 8 Months In Prison

PITTSBURGH - A Westmoreland County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 80 months imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, on his conviction of Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Joshua J. Gildea, 26, formerly of Youngwood, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, on July 30, 2012, Gildea possessed visual depictions, namely, images and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Greensburg Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Gildea.

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.