McCandless Man Received Child Pornography, Faces At Least 5 Years In Prison

PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County man pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Mark Janosko, 48, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.

According to information presented to the court, on or about July 3, 2013, Janosko received images containing material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.

Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for Oct. 9, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. The law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000.00, 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 Jessica Lieber Smolar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Indiana County and Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and the McCandless Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Janosko.

This case was brought as part of the 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 marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .