PITTSBURGH, Pa. ‑ A resident of Allegheny County, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 51 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release on his conviction of possession of child pornography, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Terrence F. McVerry imposed the sentence on Mark Peiritsch, 35, of Pittsburgh, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, on July 23, 2009, Peiritsch possessed images and videos on his computer of child pornography.

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

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Pennsylvania State Police, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Peiritsch.

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.

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