Euclid Man Charged With Child Pornography Crimes

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that Joseph D. Weiss, 44, of Euclid, Ohio, was charged with receiving, distributing and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The indictment charges that from on or about March 4, 2013, through on or about March 15, 2013, Weiss knowingly received and distributed, by computer, numerous computer files, which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  On March 22, 2013, images of child pornography were also found on his external hard drive.

If convicted, the sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Skutnik.  The case was investigated by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Euclid Police Department.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.