Franklin County Man Pleads Guilty To Production Of Child Pornography Involving An Infant And Toddler

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Evan Matthew Lawbaugh, age 33, of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo to production of child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Lawbaugh admitted that he sexually assaulted an infant boy and a four-year-old girl and recorded and distributed the videos depicting such assaults. Lawbaugh also possessed thousands of images and hundreds of videos of suspected or previously identified child pornography. Lawbaugh was previously convicted of possession of child pornography on April 8, 2015, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

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.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Assistant United States Attorney Daryl Bloom is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for each offense is 50 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Each count carries a mandatory term of imprisonment of 25 years’ imprisonment. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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