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YOUNGSTOWN (WKBN) -- A Salem man who pleaded guilty in February to having improper images of children was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Scotty Skiba, 38, received the sentence from U.S. Judge John R. Adams in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio following guilty pleas to charges of receipt and distribution of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexual activity and possession of child sex abuse material.
The charges were based off a Sept. 23 criminal complaint after a search warrant was served at his Penn Avenue home in Salem. He had been under investigation since February 2025.
A grand jury handed down an indictment Oct. 15.
The indictment in the case charges Skiba with viewing child sex abuse material from June 29, 2024, to June 30, 2025, and with having child sex abuse material on his laptop, which was seized when the search warrant at his home was served.
An affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint in the case said investigators seized the laptop, along with several cell phones and a hard drive, when serving the search warrant.
The affidavit said Skiba admitted to investigators that he had been viewing child sex abuse material for two to three years and denied having any sexual contact with minors.
However, in a later interview, he did admit to having sexual contact with a minor, the affidavit said.
Skiba's attorney submitted 15 letters of support for his client prior to sentencing.
A sentencing memorandum by the government said Skiba had 1,471 images and 38 videos on his computer that was seized when the warrant was served at his home.