Butler Man Gets 5-Year Prison Term for Distributing Sexually Explicit Images and Video of Children

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Butler, Pa., was sentenced in federal court to 5 years imprisonment followed by 15 years supervised release, on his conviction of distribution of child pornography, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Justin Ellenberger, age 26.

According to information presented to the court, on March 10, 2014, Ellenberger distributed, to an a FBI agent working in Newark, New Jersey, in an undercover capacity, 19 photographs and a video contained in computer graphics files which depicted minors, some under the age of 12 years, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A search warrant later executed at Ellenberger’s residence resulted in the seizure of two computers and an external hard drive, in which thousands of still images and videos had been stored by Ellenberger.

Judge Bissoon allowed Ellenberger to remain on bond pending designation to a federal correctional facility.

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Ellenberger.

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.