Pennsylvania man sentenced to 30 years in prison on child pornography charges

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in federal prison for production and distribution of child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Mark Anthony Permenter, 32, of Hampton Township, Pa., pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2011. He was indicted in November 2010.

According to court documents, Permenter had contact with an undercover postal inspector and sent him a sample of his child pornography via the Internet. The investigation revealed that Permenter had taken photographs of multiple girls under the age of seven whom he had contact with or watched.

"Online predators are a menace to society and inflict long-lasting emotional damage to the most vulnerable in society, our children," said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Philadelphia. "HSI will not tolerate individuals engaging in this perverse behavior, and will bring these criminals to justice."

In addition to the prison term, Permenter was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release following his prison sentence and to pay $1,100 in fines.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.