INTERNET PREDATOR AND COLLECTOR OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS IN PRISON

Martin C. Carlson, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 49-year-old Luzerne County man was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William J. Nealon to serve 22 years in federal prison for using the internet to attempt to meet a minor for sex and for downloading child pornography.

Carlson noted that Robert W. Davis, formerly of Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty to the offenses on January 3, 2008. Davis committed the offenses during July through September 2007.

Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 18, 2007, following an investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Scranton Police, and the Pueblo Police Department in Colorado.

Judge Nealon also ordered that Davis be placed on lifetime supervision by the U.S. Probation office following his release from prison. Davis must also pay a $200 special assessment.

Carlson noted that the investigation and prosecution of Davis are part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Carlson noted that Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

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