Pennsylvania man who sexually abused 6-year-old sentenced to more than 22 years

SCRANTON, Pa. – A Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced to 270 months in federal prison Wednesday after he admitted to producing child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Robert Ferraro, 45, previously pleaded guilty in May 2015 to using and persuading a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images. Between August 2013 and January 2015 Ferraro admitted to sexually abusing a 6-year-old child, videotaping the abuse, and uploading the video to the internet.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015, as a result of an investigation by HSI, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.

The federal judge ordered Ferraro to serve 10 years on supervised release following his prison sentence. He must also register as a sex offender and comply with all of the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair 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.