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Press Release

New Kensington Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH - A resident of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to receive and distribute material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, as well as distribution and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Robert Pacek, age 51, pleaded guilty to seven counts before United States District Court Judge William S. Stickman.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Pacek distributed images containing child sexual abuse material to a website on the Tor network. After investigators obtained a search warrant for Pacek’s residence, they recovered 3,297 images and 119 videos containing child sexual abuse material on his cell phone.

Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for April 11, 2023. The law provides for a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 40 years, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Pending sentencing, the court ordered the defendant remain detained.

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

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

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.

Updated December 7, 2022

Topic
Project Safe Childhood