CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Tara Ponceroff, of Morgantown, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 30 years incarceration for child pornography.
Ponceroff, age 26, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Production of Child Pornography” in February 2019. Ponceroff admitted to producing and distributing child pornography involving a minor in December 2017 in Monongalia County.
Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley called the case “horrific.”
Ponceroff reportedly confessed that she abused a male victim when he was 6 or 8 years old.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.
