Wilmerding Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Sex Traffic a Child

PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 48 months imprisonment, followed by five years supervised release, on a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking of Children, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Joseph T. Clemenic, Jr., age 45, of Wilmerding, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, in and around April of 2015, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Joseph T. Clemenic, Jr., and another person knowingly entered into an agreement to conspire to recruit for sex trafficking a female minor who had not attained the age of 18 years.

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

Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Allegheny County Police Department and the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for conducting the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Joseph T. Clemenic, Jr.

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.