by peter e. bortner
A Barnesville man will spend the next 20 years behind federal prison bars after being sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Scranton for producing child pornography.
Timothy R. Steward Jr., 39, must serve 20 years in a federal correctional institution, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy ruled.
Conaboy also sentenced Steward to spend a lifetime on supervised release following the end of his prison sentence and comply with all federal sex offender registration requirements.
A federal grand jury indicted Steward on charges that he produced child pornography on several occasions between 2000 and 2011.
Steward, who already is in prison, was arrested Dec. 23, 2011.
Federal officials alleged that Steward produced numerous pornographic pictures of a young boy and saved them on various forms of media. Law enforcement officials examined Steward's computer and other media, and found what they said were additional images of child pornography that Steward received and possessed, U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith said Thursday.
Smith said the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation the resulted in charges being filed against Steward. The national center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted in the investigation, Smith said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case against Steward.
