Thomas Romspert

A Butler man is scheduled to plead guilty to federal child exploitation charges, avoiding a trial that was scheduled to begin in March.

Thomas P. Romspert, 32, is expected to plead guilty at a Jan. 26 change of plea hearing before Judge William Stickman in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. Stickman scheduled the hearing after Romspert notified the court that he intends to plead guilty.

Romspert was indicted in February 2021 on three felony counts of attempted production and production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. He allegedly filmed a 16-year-old girl performing sexual acts and distributed the material. The alleged incidents are said to have occurred in July, August and September 2020.

Stickman’s order does not indicate to how many of the charges Romspert will plead guilty.

He is being held in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. Jury selection and his trial had been set to start March 11.

According to court documents, the charges against Romspert carry a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, at least five years of probation, a special mandatory assessment of $50,000 for each count and another special, mandatory assessment of $5,000 for each count. Both of the assessments are connected to child exploitation offenses.

In April 2021, Stickman issued an order barring Romspert from contacting the victim and any minor younger than 18 years old after he allegedly contacted the victim by telephone or mail from the county prison.