Monessen Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Monessen, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment followed by 5 years’ supervised release on his conviction of receipt and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Robert Haggerty, age 63.

According to information presented to the court during the change of plea hearing, Robert Haggerty knowingly possessed more than 92 images and 8 videos containing child sex abuse material, some of which depicted sadistic and masochistic conduct and the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers. Haggerty also knowingly received three images containing child sexual abuse material from an individual identified in communications as a 16-year old minor female.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Ranjan stated that “there is no question that the conduct in this case was serious” and that the “images at issue were, as described, disturbing.” Judge Ranjan further noted that “there are real victims in these cases,” explaining that “the reality is these crimes, whether it is a receipt or possession, have a real impact on people.” In addition to the terms of incarceration and supervised release, Judge Ranjan ordered Haggerty to pay restitution to one victim in the amount of $3,500.

Assistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended Homeland Security Investigations and other members of the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Haggerty.

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.