TOLEDO — A Harrod man was sentenced late last week to eight years in federal prison following his plea of guilty earlier this year to the receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Mark Gierhart, 62, will be subject to 15 years of supervision following his release from prison. He as also ordered to pay a $5,000 assessment mandated under the Justice for Victim of Trafficking Act and a $5,000 stipend under the Child Pornography Victim Assistant Act to be paid to the victim in the case.
Gierhart agreed to forfeit to the government a desktop computer and external hard drive used to store the illegal materials.
He entered a guilty plea to the sole count of the federal indictment on April 13 in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio. According to court documents, the charge stems from incidents between May 1, 2020 and Jan. 20, 2022, where images showing a a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct were distributed.
Judge Jeffrey Helmick ordered a sentencing memorandum for Gierhart, along with numerous exhibits used by state as part of its case, to be sealed from public view “to protect the privacy of individuals other than the defendant …”
