Conneaut Lake Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Possessing and Distributing Child Pornography

ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 84 months in jail, 10 years supervised release, and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,000 on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on John P. Hoffman, 49, of Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, Hoffman possessed and distributed computer images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Song commended the Department of Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hoffman.