Centre County Man Charged With Production And Receipt Of Child Pornography

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that William S. Welsh, age 28, of State College, Pennsylvania, was indicted on November 5, 2024, by a federal grand jury on charges of production and possession of child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on January 15, 2023, Welsh employed a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. The indictment also alleges that from December 29, 2021 through April 4, 2024, Welsh possessed images depicting minors, including minors under the age of 12, engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd 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.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. 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.

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

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