May 24, 2022 2 min read

A suspended corporal with the Pennsylvania State Police has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

Federal prosecutors announced the two-count indictment against Sean Ryan McKenzie III, 37, of Perryopolis on Monday.

McKenzie, who worked for Troop T in New Stanton, originally faced dozens of charges related to child pornography in Westmoreland County. A slew of charges were also filed in Fayette County, alleging he used a camera to record a young girl undressing.

Both of those cases have been closed in light of the federal indictment, which contains similar allegations.

Authorities began investigating McKenzie on March 10, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip indicating 215 images of child pornography were uploaded to a Dropbox account. A subpoena revealed that the account was linked to an IP address associated with McKenzie.

State police executed a search warrant at McKenzie’s Perryopolis home in March, and interviewed him the next day. He initially denied using the Dropbox account, and later admitted he had been viewing child pornography since about 2014, according to court paperwork filed as part of the original charges.

McKenzie was searched, and gave troopers a USB drive from his front pocket that allegedly contained child pornography.

Federal prosecutors said McKenzie could face up to life in prison for producing material showing the sexual exploitation of a minor and up to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

He had his initial appearance in federal court on Monday afternoon, and has a detention and arraignment hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday.

McKenzie, who enlisted with state police in June 2008, has been suspended without pay since his March arrest.