The sentence was worked out in a plea agreement between defense attorneys and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As part of the sentence, Greenberg will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years after he is released from prison.
He did not make any statements during his sentencing before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose. "You have taken your life and thrown it up in the air.” Judge Rose said. “You understood it was wrong, and you went ahead and did it.”
Greenberg pleaded guilty to two felony counts in August, including having computer equipment that contained material involving a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and attempting to transfer obscene material to a person under the age of sixteen.
Authorities claimed that he used his office and home computers to engage in sexual chat and to transmit obscene images, including videos of himself in a sex act.
Assistant U.S. attorney Mona Guerrier said Greenberg was caught in an undercover investigation when three detectives pretending to be minors, were approached by him.
A forensic analysis of Greenberg’s computers revealed approximately 16 images containing visual depictions of actual children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
“A major obligation of law enforcement today is protecting our communities from online predators,” Stewart said. “I would like to commend the FBI agents who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Guerrier, who prosecuted the case.”
FBI agents arrested Greenberg at his Kettering law office in May 2009. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transferring obscene materials to minors.
According to court documents, Greenberg contacted three separate undercover officers who were posing as 12- and 13-year-old girls on the Internet between Jan. 26, 2009 and April 29, 2009. During this period, Greenberg entered various chat rooms that were geared toward meeting minor girls and identified himself as a 18-year-old resident of Ohio, 25-year-old man from Indiana and a 31-year-old man from Pennsylvania.
The documents indicated that a series of sexually explicit conversations took place between the undercover officers and Greenberg during which he used his computer's webcam to stream obscene videos and pictures.
A forensic analysis of Greenberg's computers revealed approximately 16 images containing visual depictions of actual children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Greenberg will be allowed to voluntarily surrender. In the meantime, he is under house arrest, and allowed out of his house only for sex offender treatment.
Family friend and attorney Tom Schiff said, "Based upon what he was accused of, yes, I think it's a fair sentence."
Schiff did not make any excuses for his client's behavior, but he said Greenberg deserves some credit for taking responsibility for his actions.
"I hope someone will understand this is a blip on the screen," Schiff said. "He's a good person at heart."
The Bureau of Prisons will decide when Greenberg will report to prison. Until then, he has been ordered to stay at his house and away from all children except his own.