Press Release
Stowe Man Charged With Child Exploitation Offenses
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Hakeem James Hughes, age 28, of Stowe, Pennsylvania, was indicted on December 13, 2017, by a federal grand jury for offenses involving the exploitation of a minor.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that Hughes coerced and enticed a minor to engage in sex acts for the purpose of making visual images of those acts in February and April 2014. The two-count indictment charges Hughes with production of child pornography on separate dates.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcrment’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney James T. Clancy is prosecuting 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."
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the production of child pornography offenses is 30 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Those charges carry mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment of 15 years. 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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Updated December 14, 2017
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component