A former resident of Monaca, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for his involvement in the sexual exploitation of a minor and obstructing justice. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
The sentence was imposed on June 23, 2025, by United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV on Nicholas Sittig, aged 28.
Court documents revealed that between August 2023 and April 2024, Sittig coerced a minor residing in California to create explicit visual content for his gratification. In December 2023, upon learning about the federal investigation against him, Sittig encouraged the minor to destroy evidence related to his offenses. This included deleting contact information and social media exchanges between them to hinder the investigation. Additionally, Homeland Security Investigations identified another minor from Eastern Pennsylvania whom Sittig exploited online from December 2023 through March 2024.
Judge Stickman recognized the gravity of Sittig’s actions and the impact on his victims before issuing the sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan prosecuted the case for the government. Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti praised various law enforcement agencies including Homeland Security Investigations—Pittsburgh, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (San Francisco and Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and Monaca Police Department for their roles in securing this conviction.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.
