Pittsburgh man caught with child sex videos gets 1 year, 9 months in prison

A federal judge sentenced a Pittsburgh man caught with videos depicting children younger than 12 years old engaged in sexual acts to serve a year and nine months behind bars.

Philip Wagner, 44, will must also spend at least eight years on probation following his release from federal prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman said Wednesday.

Wagner was convicted of possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence.

Investigators found Wagner with the child sex abuse images and videos via computer files on March 20, 2018, court records show.

Officials said the production of the content “involved the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, some of whom had not yet attained 12 years.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi M. Grogran prosecuted the case with help from the FBI, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office and the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit Justice.gov/psc/.