Clarks Summit Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 64-year-old Clarks Summit resident was sentenced to five years in federal prison today by U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik for possessing child pornography during 2005 through July 11, 2008.

Carlson stated that Stephen Brickel previously admitted to possessing on his computer and on videos sexually explicit images of minors.

Brickel was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 22, 2008, as a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), European law enforcement, and Scranton Police. Brickel pleaded guilty to the offense in September 2008.

Judge Kosik also ordered that Brickel be placed on supervised release for five years after serving his prison sentence. Brickel must also pay 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. <http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.>

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

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