PITTSBURGH – A Mercer County resident has been sentenced in federal court to 84 months’ imprisonment and 7 years’ supervised release on his conviction of Distribution and Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan imposed the sentence on Alex Rogan-Laird, age 26, of Greenville, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, on March 14, 2020, Rogan-Laird distributed videos and still images over the “LiveMe” interactive software application depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent minors to an agent of the FBI working in an undercover capacity in Salt Lake City, Utah. The FBI further found Rogan-Laird in possession of thousands of sexually exploitive videos and images depicting children, on July 15, 2020, at the time a federal search warrant was executed at his residence. Rogan-Laird admitted to viewing and distributing child pornography using “LiveMe” and similar software applications.
Restitution to the victims depicted in the sexually exploitive imagery is mandatory and Judge Horan scheduled a hearing on restitution for April 6, 2022. One of the victims, now an adult, spoke at the sentencing hearing about the continuing psychological harm she endures knowing that individuals like Rogan-Laird continue to view and share the images of her childhood abuse.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Horan stated that the defendant should take advantage of mental health and sex offender treatment while serving his sentence and, like the victim, use his experience to teach others and prevent such exploitation in the future.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Rogan-Laird.
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.