19-Year-Old Luzerne County Resident Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 19-year old Luzerne County resident was sentenced to four years in federal prison yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley for possessing child pornography during 2006 through May 2008.

Carlson stated that Mathew Maginley previously admitted to possessing on his computer sexually explicit images of minors.

Maginley was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 16, 2008, as a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Maginley pleaded guilty to the offense in January 2009.

Judge Munley also ordered that Maginley be placed on supervised release for life after serving his prison sentence. Maginley must also pay a fine of $500 and a $100 special assessment.

Carlson noted that this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Carlson noted that the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

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