PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 210 months’ incarceration followed by 5 years’ supervised release on his conviction of Distribution of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and Possession of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on David Saban, age 47.
According to information presented to the court, Saban engaged in online conversations on several different social media applications wherein he discussed child sexual abuse and sent and received material depicting the sexual exploitation of children. The Court was advised that Saban also engaged in similar conduct when communicating online with a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity. The Court received victim impact statements from some of the minor victims depicted in the images and videos of child sexual abuse material that Saban possessed.
In imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon acknowledged that Saban’s conduct “feeds an evil system” and encourages those who document their sexual abuse of children.
Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan 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 Saban.
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.