A Nesquehoning man has been charged with distributing child pornography.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kenneth Persise, 32, was indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury.

According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the indictment alleges that on Feb. 26, 2020, March 4, 2020 and June 14, 2020, Persise distributed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts 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, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.