Beaver County Man Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

PITTSBURGH - A Beaver County resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of production and distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The 12-count indictment, returned on April 27, named Randolph Guy Gum, 22, formerly of Rochester, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, on or about Jan. 19, 2014; Feb. 3, 2014; Feb. 4, 2014; Feb. 13, 2014; Feb. 14, 2014; Feb. 15, 2014; March 3, 2014; March 11, 2014; April 17, 2014; April 24, 2014; and May 5, 2014, Gum produced visual depictions, images and videos, of the sexual exploitation of a minor. The indictment further alleges that on or about July 23, 2015, Gum knowingly distributed images and videos containing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

The law provides for a maximum sentence life imprisonment for the production of child pornography counts, and a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment for distribution of child pornography, and a fine of $3,000,000.00. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement and the Rochester Pennsylvania Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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.justice.gov/psc.