GEORGIA MAN INDICTED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND INTERNET PREDATOR OFFENSES

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a Georgia resident was indicted by a federal grand jury in Scranton today for participating in the production and attempted production of child pornography, the transportation of child pornography, the receipt of child pornography, and using the internet to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct.
Carlson stated that Scott Swanson, age 52, is charged with committing the offenses during November 2008 through April 2009.

The charges against Swanson stem from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Scranton Police, and the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office.
Carlson stated that Swanson faces mandatory minimum 15-year prison sentences and possible maximum sentences of 30 years in prison if he is convicted of participating in the production and attempted production of child pornography; a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence and a potential maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted of using the internet to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct; and mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison and up to 20 years in prison each for participating in the transporting and receipt of child pornography.

Carlson noted that this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to 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 is prosecuting the case.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.