Cresco Man Indicted For Online Child Enticement

 SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on September 1, 2020, Earnest Lee Pittman, Jr., age 45, of Cresco, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on online child enticement charges.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that between August 4-12, 2020, Pittman used the internet, a computer and a cellular telephone in an attempt to entice an individual under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activities.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Kingston Municipal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting 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."

Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.