The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Grant Harris, 38, formerly of Albrightsville, was sentenced onMonday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge James M. Munley to 16½ years in prison for producing child pornography.

According to U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Harris previously pleaded guilty to persuading and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual image of that conduct. Harris committed the crime between 2008 and 2009, when the victim was 8 years old. Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2015, shortly after agents and police discovered the child pornography on a computer used by the defendant.Judge Munley also ordered Harris to serve 15 years on supervised release following his prison sentence. Harris will also be subject to the restrictions and requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.In imposing a sentence above the 15-year mandatory minimum sentence required by law, Munley characterized Harris' conduct as "monstrous," and noted the harm inflicted on the victim and the victim's family.The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa 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.