Pittsburgh Man Distributed Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Jeffrey E. Goehring, age 46, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty on August 10, to one count before United States District Court Judge Cathy Bissoon.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Goehring uploaded approximately 13 images of child pornography to a Yahoo Flikr account. After investigators obtained a search warrant for Goehring’s residence, they recovered 111 videos and 862 images depicting child pornography on his electronic devices. Goehring admitted that he has had an addiction to pornography since the 1990s and that he has gradually switched to child pornography in the last 10 years.

Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for December 6, 2018. The law provides for a term of imprisonment of not less than five years, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

Assistant United States Attorney Shanicka L. Kennedy is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation with the help of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.