Press Release
☷Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to Five Years for Distributing Images and Videos of the Sexual Abuse of Minors
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
May 05,2022
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Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Distributing Images and Videos of the Sexual Abuse of Minors PITTSBURGH , PA . – A resident of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , has been sentenced in federal court to five years’ imprisonment and 10 years’ supervised release on his conviction of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor , United States Attorney Cindy K . Chung announced today . United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Shawn O’Brien , age 51 , of the City’s South Side neighborhood . According to information presented to the court , from May 17 , 2016 , to May 18 , 2016 , O’Brien knowingly distributed images and videos in computer graphics files , which depicted the sexual exploitation of minors to individuals with whom he was communicating over the KIK Messenger software application . Agents of the FBI seized numerous electronic devices from O’Brien’s residence during the execution of a federal search warrant . Forensic analysis of the contents of the electronic devices revealed that O’Brien was in possession of more than 1200 still images and 23 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children , many of whom were under the age of 12 years . Prior to imposing sentence , Judge Bissoon stated that a five - year term of imprisonment reflected the very serious nature of the criminal conduct and O’Brien’s acceptance of responsibility . Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J . Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government . United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Allegheny County District Attorney Investigations Unit , the Allegheny County Police Department , Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of O’Brien . 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 . justice . gov/psc .
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