Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Possessing Child Sex Abuse Materials, Immediately Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

PITTSBURGH – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Pittsburgh to distributing and possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, and upon conviction, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment and 10 years’ supervised release, United States Attorney Cindy Chung announced today.

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Cody Green, age 25.

According to information presented to the court during the guilty plea hearing, Green was communicating with other individuals using private communication applications, to include Wickr and Tumbler, and distributed on July 16, 2021, and Aug. 30, 2021, images and videos to those individuals which depicted the sexual exploitation of prepubescent minors. A search warrant was executed at his residence on Sept. 1, 2021, by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other members of the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force. Green’s cellular telephone was seized and found to contain 19 still images and 248 videos containing child sex abuse material, some of which depicted sex acts with children younger than 2 years old.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Ranjan emphasized the egregious nature of Green’s conduct and communications, and stated that he hoped that he would take advantage of sex offender and mental health treatment while incarcerated. Judge Ranjan further ordered Green to pay a total of $15,300 in special assessments, as well as restitution to ten child victims totaling $32,000. The court revoked Green’s bond and he was taken into custody.

Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Chung commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other members of the Western Pennsylvania Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Green.

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.