Pittsburgh Man Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For Distributing Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Allegheny County has been sentenced in federal court to 108 months imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, on his conviction of Distribution of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Terrence F. McVerry imposed the sentence on James W. Vertullo, 51.

According to information presented to the court, on or about Feb. 19, 2012, and Feb. 26, 2012, Vertullo distributed images in computer graphics files containing material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, as well as knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct by computer. It was also alleged that on or about Feb. 29, 2012, Vertullo possessed visual depictions, namely, images and videos in computer graphics files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Vertullo.

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.