Huntingdon County Man Sentenced To 70 Year’s Imprisonment For Exploitation Of Minors

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Jay Eugene Reed, age 58, of Three Springs, Pennsylvania was sentenced on October 30, 2018, by United States District Court Judge Yvette Kane to 70 years’ imprisonment followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for exploitation of minors.   

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the Pennsylvania State Police initially charged Reed in July 2015 with rape and sexual assault charges relating to a number of minors.  During the investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police seized a cell phone, a computer, and other electronic devices belonging to Reed from his residence.  On February 2, 2017, Reed pleaded guilty to all counts of the September 2015 federal indictment and admitted to both producing and possessing images of child pornography that were found on several of the seized devices.  Reed also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for the letters he wrote to a minor victim and a family member asking that they not talk about what he had done.

Before the Court imposed the 70-year sentence, the defense offered testimony from defense expert Dr. Joseph Silverman, a psychiatrist. Dr. Silverman opined dementia, sleep apnea or brain dysfunction may have caused Reed to rape and molest the four minor victims when they were between the ages of 9 and 13, photograph their naked genitals approximately 200 times, collect 300 pornographic images of prepubescent children from the internet and then write letters trying to convince the witnesses not to talk about what he did. Judge Kane rejected the defense’s request to impose only the mandatory minimum of 15 years, describing Dr. Silverman’s testimony as “fanciful” and “not based in science.”

Reed also pleaded guilty to three counts of rape in the Court of Common Pleas of Huntingdon County on May 4, 2018.  A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.   

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Huntingdon County District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Meredith A. Taylor prosecuted the case.

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."

# # #