Pennsylvania man sentenced to 4 years for possessing child pornography

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. The sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Austin J. Correll, 32, of Johnstown, Pa., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson. Correll pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 24.

According to court documents, on Jan. 24, 2011, Correll knowingly possessed pictures and videos in individual computer graphic files that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The computer graphic files were shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Gibson sentenced Correll to 20 years of supervised release.

This investigation was also 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 1-866-347-2423 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, 1-800-843-5678.

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