SCRANTON - The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher J. Cordes, age 31, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Friday, June 5, 2026, by United States District Court Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., to 330 months, or 27.5 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, attempted receipt of and possession of child pornography, creation of an animal crush video, and production of child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, while employed as a Tamaqua Police Officer for the Tamaqua Police Department in 2023 and 2024, Cordes communicated with at least one minor victim on a social media platform, whom he solicited to create sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Additionally, Cordes used social media to solicit the receipt of child pornography from others. Cordes also created and then sent a video to at least one minor victim, and others, depicting himself engaged in sexual activity with animals. When Cordes was arrested, he was in possession of child pornography.

"As a former police officer, Cordes understood the trust our communities place in those who wear a badge, and violated that trust in the most disturbing way," said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Nathan Abel. "This sentence reflects the persistent work of HSI special agents and our partners at the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office to uncover his conduct, support the victims, and ensure he will never again have the opportunity to exploit a child."

"This case involved truly disturbing conduct that has no place in a civilized society, and we thank our federal partners for collaboration that ultimately removed a predator from the community for multiple decades," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luisa Honora Berti 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. 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.

# # #