Bellefonte man sentenced in child pornography case

A Bellefonte man has begun serving a three-year federal sentence for possession of child pornography.

Robert J. Elder, 40, was ordered into immediate custody Monday after being sentenced by U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann.

Elder, who had been free since he pleaded guilty in January, had requested time to self-report.

Although Brann ordered him to begin his prison term immediately, he imposed a sentence less than the 6½ years the government sought.

The judge noted Elder had never been in trouble with the law, was undergoing mental health treatment and had passed a lie detector test that showed he had not had inappropriate contact with minors.

The sentence restricts his activities around those younger than 18.

Brann also said that Elder had not produced or shared the 1,302 images and 252 videos he obtained from a website that was the subject of a Postal Service investigation beginning in 2010.

Elder will be on supervised release for 10 years after he is released from jail, must adhere to the registration requirements of the state in which he lives and participate in a computer monitoring program at his expense.

Brann signed an order forfeiting computer equipment seized from Elder’s residence in August 2014. The judge noted Elder has never married and lives with his parents.

Elder also paid $44,000 in restitution to 15 of those identified on the videos. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. MacArthur read statements from several of them on how being pictured has affected their lives negatively.

“This crime is not without victims,” he told the judge. He showed Brann examples of the pictures, who after viewing them, called them “ghastly.”

Elder said little before being sentenced other than he knew what he had done was wrong.

The advisory sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of between 72 and 96 months for what Brann called a “low-level” child pornography case.

Defense attorney Andrew Shubin asked the judge not to send his client to jail but to place him on electronic monitoring. He cited potential problems Elder might encounter in prison.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Bellefonte man sentenced in child pornography case."