Schuylkill County Man Charged With Attempting To Entice A Minor And Receiving And Possessing Child Pornography

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Coaldale resident was charged yesterday in a criminal complaint by agents of the United States Postal Inspectors Service with attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activities and receiving and possessing child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the complaint alleges that Robert Rang, age 25, used a facility of interstate commerce during September and October of 2014, to attempt to persuade and induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activities. The complaint also alleges that Rang received and possessed child pornography from September 2014 to December 29, 2014.

The investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Postal Inspection Service in Massachusetts.

Rang appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Wilkes-Barre and was ordered to be detained in prison pending a detention hearing scheduled for January 6, 2015. Rang faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted of the enticement charge; a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted of the receiving child pornography charge; and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if he is convicted of the possession of child pornography charge.

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."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

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.

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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