The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Michael Rankin, age 36, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on April 27, 2023, by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner to 20 years’ imprisonment for sexually exploiting a child.  The Court also ordered a 15-year term of supervised release to follow the term of imprisonment.  

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Rankin previously admitted to sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl in the summer of 2021 and taking pictures of that assault.  Rankin also admitted that he possessed hundreds of images or videos of child pornography, some of which depicted infants and very young children.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli prosecuted the case.

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.usdoj.gov/psc.

Original source can be found here.