ERIE, Pa. – An Oil City man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced Tuesday.

The three-count superseding indictment named Brent Lockwood, 59, 603 Bissell Avenue, Oil City, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.

According to the superseding indictment presented to the court, Lockwood traveled to the Philippines for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. In addition, he also received and possessed computer images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

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. .

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 60 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the superseding indictment in this case.

More information on Project Safe Childhood is available at www.justice.gov/psc.