York County Man Charged With Sexual Exploitation of Children Offenses

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that John Rivera Pesante, age 25, of York, Pennsylvania, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on child exploitation charges.

According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, the indictment alleges that Rivera Pesante coerced and enticed a minor to engage in prostitution and other sex offenses in December of 2024. The indictment further alleges several counts of receiving child pornography on dates ranging from August of 2024 to earlier this year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Stephen W. Dukes is prosecuting 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. Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.

The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is a lifetime term of imprisonment, a mandatory minimum term of 10 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following the finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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