HARRISBURG, Pa. — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Robert E. Miller, III, age 34, of York County, Pennsylvania, was convicted of being in the possession of images depicting the sexual exploitation of children and receipt of obscene visual representations depicting the sexual abuse of children. The three-day trial was held before United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the jury returned the guilty verdict after approximately 1.5 hours of deliberation. The case originated when the FBI Major Case Coordination Unit sent a lead to the FBI Harrisburg office regarding a user browsing a known child pornography website. After obtaining a search warrant, federal and local law enforcement officers located hundreds of images and videos containing child pornography and obscene material depicting the sexual abuse of children, including violent rape, sodomy, bondage and forcible penetration with an object.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Northern York County Regional Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Daryl Bloom and Carlo Marchioli prosecuted the 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 http://www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for Count one is 10 years’ imprisonment, a lifetime of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty under federal law for Count two is 20 years’ imprisonment, a lifetime of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Count two carries a mandatory term of five years’ imprisonment. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
