Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Advertising, Transporting, Receiving...

Philadelphia Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Advertising, Transporting,
Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

WASHINGTON Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Robert P. Merz was sentenced to
life in prison today for advertising, transporting, receiving and possessing
child pornography, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny
A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Michael
L. Levy announced.

Merz, 45, of Philadelphia, was charged in a third superseding indictment on
Oct. 23, 2008. He was convicted of all charges following a three-day trial
before U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez in May 2009. Merz had two prior
Pennsylvania state convictions for the molestation of two young girls on
separate occasions, making him eligible for the life sentence.

Evidence presented at trial established that Merz's home was searched in
February 2007, and computers, DVDs and CDs were seized. Trial evidence showed
that upon review of the seized materials, investigators discovered hundreds of
thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors as young
as toddlers. Some of the images depicted violent sexual acts being committed
against the victims.

In addition, evidence introduced at trial revealed that Merz used numerous
online technologies to receive and transport the images. Investigators
testified at trial that Merz created and administered an online group that was
dedicated to trading images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors.
The private online group had members from around the world who were handpicked
by Merz. The investigators testified that the group could only be accessed
using a password and was established not only to trade images and videos of
minors, but also so members could talk about their common sexual interest in
children.

This online group was identified through Operation "Joint Hammer," the U.S.
component of "Operation Koala," an ongoing operation involving 28 countries
targeting transnational rings of child pornographers that was initiated by
Europol and Eurojust.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roberta Benjamin and Kevin
Brenner of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
and Trial Attorney Steve Grocki of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation
and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Computer forensics in the case were performed
by CEOS' High Technology Investigative Unit.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice, +1-202-514-2007, TDD +1-202-514-1888