Erie County Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offenses
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of North East, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 12 years in jail and 10 years supervised release on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Wesley Chase, 34.
According to information presented to the court, Chase distributed, received and 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.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Chase.