A Lackawanna man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Maxwell H. Gawley, 34, received a 60-month sentence from U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson, Gawley engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a 14-year-old male via Snapchat in August 2022. During these exchanges, Gawley requested the minor send him pictures and discussed the possibility of sexual contact, which the minor complied with. In one message, Gawley told the victim that he “might even have to make a road trip … [come] see you if we were dating.” The following month, Gawley had another sexually explicit conversation on Snapchat with a different individual and shared images and videos of child pornography over the internet.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, the New York State Police led by Major Amie Feroleto, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
