Former Allegheny County 911 dispatcher indicted on charges of producing, possessing child porn
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A Turtle Creek man who worked as an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher used two children to produce child pornography, according to a 20-count federal indictment.
Robert Bookshar, 46, was indicted on charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Thursday.
According to the indictment, Bookshar used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct on multiple occasions between August 2022 and May 2023.
Bookshar also is accused of receiving and trying to receive images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit content from September 2021 to February 2023. On June 29, he possessed images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, the indictment said.
Bookshar faces a maximum total sentence of 15 to 440 years in prison and a $5 million fine. He is detained pending trial.
Bookshar was hired as a telecommunications officer for Allegheny County Emergency Services in November 2014. He was placed on an indefinite unpaid leave after charges were filed in June.
He is no longer a county employee, a spokeswoman said.
The FBI and the Allegheny County Police Department conducted the investigation. County police began investigating Bookshar in May 2023 after police in Tampa, Fla., contacted them about a child pornography case on which they were working.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort the Department of Justice launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.