Crawford County Man Admits Having Child Pornography on His Computer

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

Alan Thomas Rigby, 70, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge David S. Cercone. As part of the plea agreement in the case, Rigby agreed to a sentence of 13 years in jail and lifetime supervised release.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Rigby possessed 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.

Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for April 16, 2018. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

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

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Rigby.