Luzerne County Man Sentenced To 180 Months In Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Brandon Christopher Heck, age 25, a resident of Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 180 months' imprisonment by United States District Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., for production of child pornography.

According to the Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, between July 26, 2023, and July 27, 2023, Heck communicated with a 7-year-old child via the Likee application. Over a twenty-four-hour period, Heck, who posed as a 14-year-old boy, directed the child to take and remit sexually explicit images of herself. A subsequent forensic review of Heck's cellular device confirmed that in addition to producing child pornography, Heck distributed child pornography via Telegram throughout 2024.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Philadelphia Division. Assistant United States Attorney Tatum Wilson 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 https://www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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