Source: United States Department of Justice News
PITTSBURGH – A former resident of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of Travel With Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct, Transportation With Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity, and Receipt and Attempted Receipt of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
The three-count Indictment, returned on Dec. 13, 2022, named James Jordan, age 30, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, from Jan. 11, 2022, until Jan. 12, 2022, Jordan traveled in interstate commerce to engage in any illicit sexual conduct a minor and also transported the minor from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the State of West Virginia, with the intent that the minor engage in criminal sexual activity. Further, on Nov. 18, 2021, Jordan knowingly received and attempted to received visual depictions of a minor, via interstate commerce; namely, several digital files, the production of which involved the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which depicted a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of life imprisonment, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Department of Homeland Security—Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Waynesburg Police Department, and the Lewisburg (WV) Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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.justice.gov/psc.