LEBANON, Pa. — A Lebanon man will serve up to 20 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child in 2021, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam announced Monday.
Michael Rankin, 36, was sentenced on April 27 to a prison term of 20 years by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner, Karam said. Conner also ordered that Rankin must serve a 15-year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Rankin previously admitted to the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in the summer of 2021, Karam said. He also took pictures of the assault, according to Karam.
Rankin also admitted to possessing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted infants and very young children, Karam said.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. 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 www.usdoj.gov/psc.
