Pittsburgh Man Sentenced for Possessing Sexual Images of Minors

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 21 months’ imprisonment and eight years’ supervised release on his conviction of Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Philip W. Wagner, age 44, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, on March 20, 2018, Wagner possessed images and videos in computer graphic files, the production of which involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years of age.

Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Kaufman commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, and the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Wagner.

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.