The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Jonathan Brownlee, 42, of Long Pond, pleaded guilty on July 16 before District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion to possessing child pornography.

According to attorney David J. Freed, Brownlee admitted he used a laptop computer to possess and access images of child pornography. Between August 2017 and April 10, 2018, in Monroe County, Brownlee possessed the child pornography while serving a term of supervised release for a previous conviction for receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Judge Mannion ordered a presentence investigation to be completed with sentencing to be scheduled at a later date.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Probation Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

The 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.

The maximum penalty under federal law for the offenses is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison because of Brownlee’s prior conviction for a child pornography crime.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.

For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.