A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography involving a minor from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Zachary J. Vogt, 20, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, received the sentence on February 23, 2026, from U.S. District Court Judge Byron B. Conway after being convicted under Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a).
Court documents show that Vogt began communicating online with the minor in October 2024. The exchanges soon became sexual. After the child’s parents discovered the communication, they warned both their child and Vogt to stop all contact. Vogt did not comply with this warning.
In June 2025, Vogt traveled from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin despite knowing the minor was underage. He engaged in sexual activity with the child and recorded it on his phone. Law enforcement later recovered these images and arrested Vogt.
Judge Conway stated that a sentence of 180 months was appropriate due to “the incredibly serious nature of the offense” and emphasized that “the defendant had been warned to cease contact with the child.” He also cited “strong need to deter others from enticing children online” and found there was a need “to protect the public from online sexual predators like Vogt.” After serving his prison term, Vogt will be subject to 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender under state and federal law.
“This defendant is clearly a sick and dangerous individual,” said U.S. Attorney Schimel. “He was given the chance to terminate his online sexually explicit activity with the child but ignored that warning and escalated his criminal conduct by crossing multiple states to sexually exploit the child. The only way to keep the community safe from him is to lock him up. The law enforcement community has no higher priority than to protect our kids, and if you harm them, we are coming for you.”
The City of Oshkosh Police Department led the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble prosecuted it.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide effort started by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006—to address increasing cases of child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating resources at federal, state, and local levels for investigation and victim rescue efforts.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood: www.projectsafechildhood.gov
