A Pittsburgh woman was sentenced to 7½ years in prison and $13,000 in reparations after pleading guilty to federal counts of distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors claimed Marissa Lynn Segal, 32, acknowledged exchanging images and videos of infant victims and acts of bestiality.
Federal prosecutors announced the sentencing Monday, which included 90 months in prison and $13,000 in reparations. According to WPXI, the punishment was imposed in the United States District Court.
According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Segal pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan on January 12. Prosecutors informed the court that on July 14, 2025, she sent photographs and videos via a mobile application, including material involving newborns and bestiality.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the FBI conducted the investigation into Segal’s actions, and the case is being prosecuted by an assistant US attorney.
Federal law regards the receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse material very severely. Under 18 U.S.C. §2252A, receiving or distributing normally carries a statutory range of around five to 20 years in prison, with the possibility of up to 40 years for defendants with certain prior convictions. Simple possession can result in penalties of up to ten years, with greater exposure when photographs depict extremely young children. See 18 U.S.C. §2252A for the statutes governing these offenses.
The FBI stated that the case was handled as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice project created in 2006 to coordinate federal, state, and local responses to technologically aided child exploitation. The program is intended to bring together numerous agencies in the battle against online child abuse, rather than allowing them to work independently.
Members of the public who need to report suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which operates a CyberTipline for reporting possible child sexual abuse material and related activity. Prosecutors identified Project Safe Childhood and NCMEC’s CyberTipline as government cooperation and reporting channels.
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