Luzerne County Man Indicted On Federal Child Pornography Charges

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a federal grand jury in Scranton returned an indictment today charging a Luzerne County man with the receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Jeremy Joseph Box, age 29, of Hazleton City, Luzerne County, was charged by the grand jury for allegedly committing the offenses between 2011 and 2013.

     The charges against Box stem from an investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

     U.S. Attorney Smith requests that anyone with information related to this matter please contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tipline at 1-866-347-2423.

     Box was taken into custody on December 6, 2012 on related state charges.

     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.

     Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.

     Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

     A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

     In this particular case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. 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.