Local charges against a Bradford man for possessing child
pornography have been withdrawn and the case has been turned over
to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Erie for federal prosecution
instead.

Christopher Ausherman, 39, of 131 High St., has been indicted by
a federal grand jury on one count each of receipt of material
depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of
material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

District Attorney John Pavlock contacted The Era on Tuesday to
explain the changes in the case.

“These are serious charges. I felt the public needed an
explanation,” he said.

He explained that he and County Detective Gerald Okerlund
participate in the Northwest Pennsylvania Child Pornography Task
Force, which was developed earlier this year by the U.S Attorney’s
Office in Erie.

“The goal of this task force is to coordinate and strengthen the
efforts to prosecute those that choose to obtain and disseminate
child pornography,” he said. “They want to vigorously pursue these
cases.”

Pavlock said with the Ausherman case, he spoke to the arresting
officer, Sgt. Todd Erickson of the Bradford City Police, and they
both agreed to “run the case by” the task force members.

“They absolutely wanted to pursue federal charges,” Pavlock
said.

He explained that state and federal laws ban child pornography,
so either jurisdiction could pursue charges against a
defendant.

“There are many crimes that there is a federal and a state
statute that deals with it,” he said. In this case, the county
charges will be withdrawn and federal charges will be pursued.

Explaining his involvement in the task force, Pavlock referred
to the growing number of cases involving child pornography and
child abuse in McKean County.

“Of course with the issues that we have, we wanted to explore
any and all resources,” he said.

He explained that Erickson will continue to fully assist the
federal authorities with the prosecution of Ausherman, and lauded
the efforts of Erickson and the city police on this case and for
their cooperation with the federal prosecution.

According to court records, the grand jury returned an
indictment against Ausherman on April 10. The charges allege that
he knowingly received material depicting the sexual exploitation of
a minor through interstate commerce; and he knowingly possessed one
or more items containing visual depictions of a minor engaging in
sexually explicit conduct.

The records indicate that in January of 2007, Ausherman received
visual depictions of a minor that had been shipped by computer. The
depictions showed minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The court records also indicate that during the same time
period, Ausherman possessed visual depictions including picture
printouts and visual files showing minors engaging in sexually
explicit conduct.

The records also list the penalties for the charges. For
receiving the material, the possible penalties range from five to
20 years of imprisonment, a fine of $250,000; a term of supervised
release up to life; and any or all of the previously listed
penalties. For possessing the material, the possible penalties
include imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine of $250,000;
a term of supervised release up to life; and any or all of the
previous penalties.

Ausherman is being held without bail. On Friday, Chief U.S.
Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter signed an order of detention
pending trial which spells out reasons for Ausherman to be
imprisoned.

“Defendant has a significant criminal history, including crimes
of violence; defendant has a history of drug abuse and evidence was
presented that defendant is currently using illegal drugs,
specifically cocaine,” the order reads in part, and continues to
spell out a mental health diagnosis, a history of noncompliance
with court instructions and strong evidence against him in this
case.

The affidavit of probable cause filed by Erickson in the county
case had alleged that Ausherman possessed more than 400 nude
computer images of children, as well as other depictions.

Pavlock said the same evidence will be used in the federal case
against Ausherman.