The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Tobyhanna man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Scranton on charges of producing child pornography and receiving and distributing child pornography.

Robert Ferraro, 44, is charged with persuading and inducing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images. The indictment says the crimes occurred between August 2013 and January 2015.The charges stem from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.Ferraro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if he is convicted of the production of child pornography charge. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if he is convicted of receiving and distributing child pornography.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.