Pennsylvania man sentenced to 37 months in prison for possession of child pornography

ERIE, Pa. – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. The sentence is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Joseph Martin Glass, 53, formerly of Oil City, Pa., was sentenced Monday. Glass was also ordered to serve eight years of supervised release at the conclusion of his prison sentence. He previously pleaded guilty Nov. 2, 2012, to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, Glass possessed computer images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or its online resource for reporting child sexual exploitation.

HSI is a founding member and the U.S. representative of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.