Former Boy Scout Leader Sentenced To Prison For Child Porn

PITTSBURGH (AP/KDKA) - A former Boy Scout leader from western Pennsylvania has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

Forty-one-year-old Christopher Sokiera apologized to the child victims depicted in his collection, his parents, the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts before receiving the 87-month sentence Thursday from a federal judge in Pittsburgh.

Sokiera pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography after authorities raided his apartment in Shaler last year. At the time, authorities found at least 90 images of girls and boys, including toddlers, and naked photos of Sokiera.

"We negotiated a plea agreement that was less than the penalty that could have been imposed, far less than the penalty that could have been imposed," defense attorney Frank Walker II said. "It was a plea deal by information, no indictment."

Sokiera had been a volunteer and adviser for the Nischa Nimat chapter in the Beaver Valley and Seneca districts of the Boy Scouts before his arrest last year.

Walker said a lie detector test cleared Sokiera of any inappropriate contact with any Scouts.

"He passed with flying colors. There was no indication that he had any contact of a sexual nature with any of the Boy Scouts," Walker said. "He was cleared of that. Cleared with all of that, so it had no bearing on this whatsoever."

Sokiera will report to prison in a few weeks. Between now and then, Walker says he'll continue down the road he started at the time of his arrest.

"Living with his parents, going through counseling and accepting responsibility for his actions," Walker said. "He just looks forward to putting this behind him."

The court system will determine where Sokiera will serve his 7 years and 3 months. His attorney says they hope it's as close to Pittsburgh as possible so Sokiera can be close to his parents, but ultimately the decision is up to the U.S. Marshals.

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(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)