Harrisburg Man Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography and Failure to Appear for Sentencing

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced today that Michael Brown, 67, of Harrisburg, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III for receipt of child pornography and failure to appear for sentencing. Judge Jones sentenced Brown to an 84 month term of imprisonment for the child pornography charge and 12 months’ imprisonment for failing to appear for sentencing.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Brown was charged in a two-count indictment in December 2009 charging him with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Brown was arrested and released on an appearance bond with pretrial services supervision including home confinement with electronic monitoring. In July 2010, Brown plead guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Brown was scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2011. However, Brown failed to appear and left a note with his girlfriend indicating that he was not going to appear for sentencing. During the search for Brown it was discovered that he traveled throughout the United States, to include the states of Oregon, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and California. In August 2011, after an extensive manhunt, Brown was arrested at a library in Harrisburg as he tried to meet an associate. Brown was indicted by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg in September 2011 for failure to appear for sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of numerous state and local law enforcement agencies who helped with Brown’s arrest following his failure to appear for sentencing. Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom prosecuted the case.