ADVISORY: Elements of this story include graphic descriptions of a sexual nature that some may find objectionable

A former a Mercer County resident was sentenced in federal court to nine years in prison and five years of supervised release after being convicted of Distributing Sexual Images of a Minor.

Mary Jacobs, age 29, once lived in Farrell, Pennsylvania. She plead guilty to the charges back in May 2021.

According to information presented in court, Jacobs used the online chat forum "Skout" to distribute approximately 11 still images depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor over a two day period in February 2017.

The victim was not yet 12-years-old at the time of the incident.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania said that Jacobs sent the images to an individual who had requested them after the two had communicated online for a brief time. The receiving individual is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence in Florida for offenses involving possession of child sexual abuse material and related offenses.

Police said that Jacobs admitted to sending video and pictures of her performing sex acts on a minor three separate times. This was information that came forward after her conviction earlier this year.

The case against Jacobs came about as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, an initiative first launched in 2006 to combat the declared epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.