BLAIR COUNTY, Pa (WTAJ) – A Duncansville man has been sentenced for the production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
On Aug. 4, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville sentenced 29-year-old Jacob Kolonis to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $9,000 to his victims, according to U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung.
On Feb. 9, Kolonis admitted during his plea hearing that he threatened seven girls with the intent to extort them for nude and sexually explicit images. On three of these occasions, it’s reported Kolonis threatened the minors to create and send videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct over Snapchat. He admitted to extorting the minors for his own sexual gratification.
Kolonis was originally facing 16 charges of child exploitation and child pornography. His victims were from Pennsylvania and Ohio.
He was sentenced in federal court for three counts of production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Chung commended Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General–Child Predator Unit, the Bethel Park Police Department, the South Fayette Township Police Department, and the Stark County Sheriff’s Office (Ohio) for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Kolonis.
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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc.