Clairton Resident Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Clairton, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 216 months in prison, to be followed by 12 years of supervised release, on his convictions of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Joseph Primiero, 28, on June 3, 2026.

According to information presented to the Court, on or about January 24, 2022, Primiero produced images and a video of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and then produced an image and videos of another minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on or about June 27, 2022. Further, on or about May 22, 2024, Primiero possessed images and videos of other prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant United States Attorney V. Joseph Sonson prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Allegheny County Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Primero.

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. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.