PITTSBURGH – A former resident of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 8 years’ imprisonment and 10 years’ supervised release on his conviction of Receipt and Attempted Receipt of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Kevin Lude, age 31, of Ambridge, Pennsylvania on January 20, 2022.
According to information presented to the court, from August 21, 2019 through September 30, 2019, Lude knowingly received and attempt to receive visual depictions of minors, namely videos, engaging in sexually explicit conduct via peer-to-peer networks. Because a peer-to-peer network allows a user to download files directly from the computers of other users in the network, Lude was able to accrue an extensive collection of child sexual abuse material while permitting other individuals to do the same.
In imposing Lude’s sentence, Judge Ranjan stated: “[I]t is undisputed and supported by the victim-impact statements that there remains an ongoing harm to the victims as their images are re-distributed.” As part of his sentence, the Court ordered Lude to pay restitution to 22 of his victims, resulting a total order of restitution of $72,788.98.
Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended Homeland Security Investigations and the New Brighton Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lude.
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.
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