Former Franklin Resident Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Receipt and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material

ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Franklin, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 7 years in jail, 5 years supervised release and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution on his conviction of receipt and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter imposed the sentence on Aaron Ray McClelland, 29.

According to information presented to the court, in and around October 2020 and July 2021, McClelland received images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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 (CEOS), 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.justice.gov/psc.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, and Indiana County District Attorney's Office for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of McClelland.