A child sexual assault case that originated with an Erie police investigation has expanded to U.S. District Court in Erie, where the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison if convicted.
The defendant, Cameron J. Villanti, 33, formerly of Erie and now of Cranberry Township in Butler County, is charged with six felony counts. They include four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to an indictment returned on Dec. 9 and unsealed on Dec. 19.
A conviction on any of those four counts carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, according to court records.
An indictment in a child sex exploitation case was unsealed in federal court in Erie on Dec. 19.
The case against Villanti started in August, when Erie police charged him with sexually assaulting a young girl and sending a video of the act to the victim. The Cranberry Township Police Department later in the month charged him with similar counts.
Both sets of charges relate to allegations that Villanti had sex with a young girl at a residence in Cranberry Township earlier in 2025.
Smartwatch video evidence in Erie police probe
The Erie police launched the case after a woman reported that she found a video of a sex act on a girl’s smartwatch, and that Villanti sent the video, according to charging documents. The documents state that Villanti told Erie police detectives on Aug. 21 that he made a mistake and sexually abused the girl and that he recorded the incident and sent the video to the girl.
The indictment moves that case against Villanti from state court to federal court, where the penalties are typically more severe.
The indictment alleges that Villanti filmed a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on four occasions between March and August. He is also accused of one count each of distribution of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Villanti is in the Butler County Prison on $500,000 bond in the Cranberry Township case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is asking that he remain in prison pending the prosecution of the federal case, according to court records.
Villanti is scheduled for an initial appearance before Chief Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo on Jan. 16.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Lengthy sentence in play as Erie child sex case moved to federal court