May 19, 2009 2 min read

A Bullskin Township man was sentenced to 42 months in a federal prison after he pleaded guilty to having child pornography on his home computer. James Francis Brooks, 31, was sentenced last month, but U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone allowed him to remain free on bond until officials from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons assigns him to a federal institution. If that doesn’t occur by July 17, Cercone ordered Brooks to turn himself in to U.S. marshals.

In December, he pleaded guilty to having child pornography on his computer before Cercone in federal court in Pittsburgh.

He was charged after authorities found that he had videos on his computer of minors being sexually exploited in December 2007.

In addition to the prison time, Brooks was ordered to spend five years on supervised release after he serves his sentence and will have to register as a convicted sex offender.

Additionally, the judge ordered that he be enrolled in a mental health or sex offender treatment program and that monitors be installed on his computer.

Brooks also cannot associate with children younger than age 18 unless there is an adult present who knows about his conviction, and who is approved by his probation officer.

In his sentencing order, Cercone recommended that Brooks serve his time in a prison “as close as possible to his family in western Pennsylvania.”

Brooks also was ordered to forfeit his computer.