A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to serve 12 years in prison for
coercing and enticing a minor and possessing child pornography,
announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Western District
of Pennsylvania David J. Hickton; and Special Agent in Charge John
Kelleghan of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI) in Philadelphia.
Jeffrey W. Herschell, 54, of Washington, Pa., was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge David Stewart Cercone in the Western District of
Pennsylvania. According to a statement of facts entered into the record
by the government and agreed to by the defendant, Herschell sent money
to the Philippines in February 2010 for a live, online sex show that
included a 12-year-old minor female engaging in sexual activity.
Herschell also admitted to possessing child pornography videos at his
Pennsylvania residence.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber
Smolar of the Western District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Bonnie
L. Kane of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity
Section (CEOS). This case was investigated by ICE-HSI Pittsburgh and
the ICE-HSI Attache’s Office in the Philippines with significant
assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation (Philippines) and
the Philippine National Police.
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
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.
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