Rickie Sitler, Producing Child Pornography, Pennsylvania 2014

A 58-year-old Berwick man was sentenced today to 200 months in prison for producing child pornography, announced the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, Rickie Sitler, previously pleaded guilty to using a four-year-old child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of such conduct. Sitler committed the crime between late November to early December 2014.

Sitler was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015, as a result of an investigation by agents of Homeland Security Investigations, the Berwick Police Department, and the Columbia County District Attorney's Office.

Judge A. Richard Caputo also ordered Sitler to serve 10 years on supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay a special assessment of $100.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the government to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

The government has made combating child exploitation and abuse a top priority. The case highlights the importance of the public's participation in reporting suspected child abuse.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/columbia-county-man-sentenced-200-months-federal-prison-producing-child-pornography