Moon Township Man Going to Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

A Moon Township man has been sentenced in federal court to 72 months in prison followed by 15 years supervised release, for having child pornography, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh.

U.S. District Judge Terrence F. McVerry imposed the six-year sentence on Lawrence M. Winter, 45, formerly of Springer Drive, who was previously convicted of possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

Before sentencing, Winter agreed to make a $2,000 restitution payment to the victim identified as "Vicky."

Winter, a former Allegheny County Jail guard, was found to be in unlawful possession of thousands of still images and hundreds of videos around Nov. 2, 2010. 

According to information presented to the court, the images depicted the sexual exploitation of children, many of whom had not reached the age of 12 years old and some of whom were depicted bound. 

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney David Hickton commended State Police and the Moon Township Police Department for the investigation that led to Winter's prosecution.

The 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. 

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