Montgomery County Man Sentenced To More Than 10 Years In Prison For Producing Child Pornography

 SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Omar Santiago-Muniz, age 30, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on February 17, 2021, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to 127 months’ imprisonment for production of child pornography.

According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Santiago-Muniz previously admitted that in June-July 2017, he enticed and persuaded two minors, ages 9 and 10, from Schuylkill County, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of such conduct, and that he used a cell phone and the internet to commit the crimes.

Judge Mariani also ordered Santiago-Muniz to serve 10 years on supervised release following his prison sentence, and pay a special assessment of $5,100. Santiago-Muniz will have to undergo sex offender treatment and must comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the case.

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