McConnellsburg man charged with distributing child porn

HARRISBURG – A 32-year-old McConnellsburg man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Friday.

According to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that Clay Aaron Rasp possessed and distributed child pornography between January and July of this year. The indictment also alleges that Rasp produced a morphed image of child pornography.

Read:Ft. Loudon man sent to jail for molesting boy

Rasp is scheduled to appear Dec. 21 before U. S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab for arraignment.

The Lower Heidelberg Police Department, state police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Schinnour is prosecuting it, according to the release.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat 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 prosecute people who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Read:Man accused of posting pornographic videos of woman

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

The maximum penalty under federal law for possession and distribution of child pornography is 20 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine, according to the release.

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