A Schuylkill County man will spend the next 2-5 years behind bars for sharing illicit images online depicting minors in sex acts.
Schuylkill County Common Pleas Judge William Burke imposed that sentence on Jason Lacerte, 49, of Pottsville, in Courtroom 3 at Schuylkill County Courthouse Friday morning.
Lacerte was originally arrested last year following an investigation by the State Police’s Computer Crimes Unit.
That investigation was triggered by seven tips filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) between August 2023 and May 2024.
Platforms including Quora, KIK, and Snapchat reported that Lacerte’s accounts were used to upload and share child sexual abuse material.
Following a search of his Pottsville residence, Lacerte admitted to investigators that he viewed and shared the illicit material, specifically directing police to a directory on his phone containing videos of children between the ages of 3 and 7.
He was subsequently charged with three felonies, including possession of child sexual abuse material, dissemination of files, and criminal use of a communication device.
Lacerte had previously agreed to plead guilty to felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and disseminating media depicting child sex acts.
Burke imposed a sentence of 2-5 years on the dissemination charge and 16-32 months on the CSAM charge. Those sentences will be served concurrently.
A felony count of criminal use of a communication facility was withdrawn.
Lacerte has been in Schuylkill County Prison since his arraignment in District Court on May 30.
In addition to his prison sentence, Lacerte is labeled as a Tier 2 sex offender and will be required to regularly register with State Police for 25 years following his release. Lacerte did not meet the criteria of being a sexually violent predator.
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