Former Erie Man Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Possessing, Distributing Child Pornography

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 145 months in jail, 15 years supervised release and ordered to make $5,000 in restitution on his conviction of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Michael Vay Daratany, 36.

According to information presented to the court, Daratany distributed and possessed computer images and movies depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Many of the images and movies found on Daratany's computer equipment depicted the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Cercone stated that this was a very serious offense deserving of a significant sentence.

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

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Charlottesville, Virginia Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Daratany.

Launched in February 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.