PHILADELPHIA — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern), published as received.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Joseph Gallo, 80, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez to 10 years in prison, five years of supervised release, $12,750 in restitution, and $10,000 in additional special assessments, for possessing thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

In March of last year, the defendant was charged by information with possession of child pornography as a second-time child sex offender. He pleaded guilty in July, admitting that, over a period of more than three years, he had amassed a collection of more than 18,000 images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

At the time Gallo committed these crimes, he was already a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law, attending court-ordered sex offender treatment, and serving a sentence of supervised county probation, following his 2015 prosecution in Bucks County for similar offenses.

“Gallo learned nothing from his first conviction and again started seeking out those abhorrent images,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Consumers of child pornography like him perpetuate the exploitation and trauma of innocent victims, which my office, HSI, and our partners simply won’t abide. We’ll continue to hold accountable collectors of child sexual abuse material, because protecting kids everywhere is paramount.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.