Pennsylvania man indicted for producing, trafficking child abuse images

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Peter J. Smith announced that a 36-year-old Schuylkill County resident was indicted by a federal grand jury Jan. 25 for producing, receiving and distributing child pornography.

The grand jury alleges that Jonathan Binns of Shenandoah, Pa., produced images of child pornography and used a computer to download and distribute images of child pornography between February and October 2010. The indictment charges Binns with two counts of producing child pornography and one count of receiving and distributing child pornography.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Pennsylvania State Police and Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office investigated this case.

If Binns is convicted of the charges, he faces a mandatory 15-year prison sentence and up to 30 years in prison on each count of producing child pornography, and a mandatory five-year prison sentence and up to 20 years in prison on the receiving and distributing child pornography charges.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.