Jerald Ungerer, Child Pornography Production, Pennsylvania 2022

SCRANTON – A Pike County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for producing child pornography, announced the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Jerald Ungerer, age 34, was sentenced on March 11, 2022, to 20 years’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for the charge of production of child pornography.

Upon release from prison, Ungerer will be supervised by a probation officer for a period of 10 years. This sentence comes after Ungerer pleaded guilty to producing multiple videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in October 2021. Investigators seized multiple computer hard drives and other electronic devices containing child pornography from Ungerer’s residence in Pike County in March 2020.

The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Northeast Computer Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the sentence, stating that Ungerer admitted to producing child pornography. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Attorney General to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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, and for more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Jerald Ungerer’s case is a stark reminder of the dangers of child exploitation and the importance of protecting children from harm. The Grimy Times will continue to provide coverage of crimes related to child exploitation and abuse.

In related news, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police are urging parents and caregivers to educate themselves and their children about online safety and the risks of child exploitation.

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