PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jason James Cain, 49, of Oxford, Pa., has been charged by indictment with seven counts of manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography, and two counts of possession of child pornography.

The charges arise out of the defendant's alleged sexual abuse and exploitation of seven minor children in his care over more than a 3½ year period, including exposing himself to the children, touching both himself and the children in a sexual manner, having the children touch him, and using various cameras to record the children as they used the toilet. The victims ranged in age from two to nine years old.

At the time that he allegedly committed these child sex crimes, the defendant was employed by the United States Army Research Laboratory. Cain has been incarcerated at the Chester County Prison since his arrest in December 2023 on related state charges.

If convicted of the federal charges, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years' imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment, a mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release, and monetary penalties of up to $434,000. He would also be required to register under the Sex Offender and Notification Act (SORNA) as a child sex offender.

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 projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Chester County District Attorney's Office's Chester County Detectives, and the Pennsylvania State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.