For the next 10 years, Robert L. Raeder Jr. will see nothing but the inside of a federal prison cell, as a judge sentenced him Thursday in Scranton for producing child pornography.
Raeder, 45, of Tamaqua, must serve 121 months in prison, spend three additional years on supervised release and comply with the sex offender registration requirements under the terms of Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy's sentence.
Furthermore, Raeder still faces prosecution in Schuylkill County Court for allegedly raping one girl and sexually abusing a second one.
Raeder pleaded guilty on May 7 to production of child pornography.
Federal authorities arrested Raeder on April 2, alleging that between January 2001 and December 2012, he had produced pornographic videos and other images, and maintained them on his computer.
A forensic examination of Raeder's computer revealed the images and videos, according to prosecutors.
The Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations department investigated the case against Raeder.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
Even though he has been sentenced to federal prison, Raeder's legal problems are far from over.
Schuylkill County authorities have charged him with two counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and indecent assault, and one each of rape, aggravated indecent assault, indecent exposure and an additional sex-related offense.
State police at Frackville charged Raeder with committing the crimes in summer 2001 at two addresses in Tamaqua.
The assaults came to light April 29, 2012, when a community cleanup along Valley Road in Walker Township uncovered 53 Polaroid pictures depicting child nudity and sexual assault, police said.
The state police Computer Crimes Unit converted the images into digital format and a CD was submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
On Oct. 23, a Request for Identification was given to local media outlets and printed in The Republican-Herald.
Two days later, on Oct. 25, the biological parents of a girl in the photos contacted police and, after being interviewed individually, confirmed the child was their daughter and that at the time of the photos, she was between 3 and 5 years old.
Police learned that during the summer of 2001, Raeder baby-sat the girl while her mother was at work, along with his own children.Defendant: Robert L. Raeder Jr.
Age: 45
Residence: Tamaqua
Crime committed: Production of child pornography
Prison sentence: 121 in prison, three years supervised release and sex offender registration requirements