SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jaime Ryan Chorba, age 46, of Archbald, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography before United States District Court Judge Malachy Mannion on May 12, 2022. No date has been set for sentencing.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on February 22, 2022, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Chorba alleging that on April 1, 2016, Chorba produced child pornography and used the internet to entice a minor to participate in its production. The superseding indictment also alleged that between June 3, 2016, and November 16, 2020, Chorba received images of child pornography and he also allegedly possessed images of prepubescent minors under the age of twelve, including images depicting himself with the minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Philadelphia Division and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny Roberts is prosecuting the case.
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.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. There is a mandatory minimum period of imprisonment of 15 years. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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