Former McKeesport man sentenced to 18 years for soliciting sexual images from boys

A former McKeesport man was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in a federal penitentiary for soliciting sexual photos of three boys online while he was on probation for a child pornography charge, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady.

Scott Payne, 33, was ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release after the prison sentence is completed. The hearing was held by video conference.

He pleaded guilty in September 2019 to possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and coercion of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Payne was indicted in January 2018 after federal authorities learned that he communicated with a 12-year-old boy on Kik, a smartphone messaging application. Investigators said he pretended to be a female and requested photos and video of the boy performing sex acts, according to Brady. Authorities learned that he had similar communications with a 15-year-old boy in New Jersey and a 16-year-old boy in Louisiana.

When authorities served a search warrant at his home in June 2017, they found sexually explicit photos and videos of all three boys.

An HTC cell phone found in Payne’s home was ordered to be forfeited, according to court filings.

Payne was sentenced in Allegheny County court in 2012 to seven years of probation on the sex offense that stemmed from a 2008 incident, according to online court records. He was ordered then to register for 10 years as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

Federal court records show Payne has been detained since his indictment. He was being held in the Indiana County Prison, according to his Megan’s Law registration.