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WILKES-BARRE — A Swoyersville man was sentenced to spend at least four years in prison after pleading guilty to numerous counts of possession of child pornography.
Mark A. Jaskulka, 37, appeared before Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. on March 18 for sentencing after court records show he entered a guilty plea on 20 counts of child pornography on Oct. 19.
Jaskulka was first charged in June 2020 after detectives received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
According to the tip, Jaskulka had had a chat conversation with another man last March on a chat website.
According to police, Jaskulka had been using the screen name “NEPA” on the website and told the other man, “I’m trying to get close to one of ur boys” and asked “Can I see ur boys?”
Another cyber-tip to detectives indicated that Jaskulka had been sharing images in a private text message.
During an interview with police, Jaskulka admitted to using the website to chat with other people in an attempt to find males younger than 18, and he claimed he had pictures and videos of boys engaged in sex acts saved to his phone.
Detectives found numerous videos and images, including those depicting both boys and infants in sexual situations. They were stored in a folder called “Boy Man.”
Sklarosky sentenced Jaskulka to spend between 54 and 132 months, or between four-and-a-half and 11 years, in a state correctional facility, which will be followed by a term of seven years probation.
Sklarosky also denied Jaskulka’s petition to be given credit for time served, meaning he will have no time cut off his minimum sentence.