Judge Sentences Former PA Turnpike Worker To 15 Years In Prison For Producing Child Porn

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 15 years imprisonment, followed by 15 years supervised release, on his conviction of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Nora B. Fischer imposed the sentence on John S. Longo, 58.

According to information presented to the court, Longo, a retired employee of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, from June 2009 through November 2010, requested another adult produce and send him digital images depicting the sexual exploitation of a child victim who was 12 years of age. The images included those produced on Jan. 30, 2010, of the minor victim by the other adult. In addition to retaining the images for his own benefit, Longo distributed the images to others over the internet, as well as posted some of the digital photographs on a Russian website that catered to child pornography.

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

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended Homeland Security Investigations - Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Longo.

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.