By Kathryn Reed

Joseph Scanio, the South Lake Tahoe man who served more than three years in federal prison on child pornography charges, will be spending another six months behind bars.

U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr. today in Sacramento sentenced Scanio for eight probation violations. Where he will serve his time has not been determined. He has been incarcerated in Sacramento County Superior Court since his last hearing on Nov. 17.

Joseph Scanio

While Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez told Lake Tahoe News she believes justice has been served, she is not convinced Scanio understands the severity of his actions.

“I do have my lingering doubts about Mr. Scanio, that he does not accept the basic conditions under which he is a sex offender – that he is allowed liberty,” Rodriguez said. “There are myriad additional conditions and further procedures that everyone involved with his supervision will be taking and that Mr. Scanio has agreed to to assure the community is protected.”

Specific conditions of his supervised release that will begin next spring have not been disclosed.

But on Dec. 8 the judge said a broad interpretation of the conditions must be followed.

Timothy Zindel, the federal defender representing Scanio, said he was happy the judge did not accept the prosecutor’s recommendation that his client serve nine months.

“People need to understand child pornographers are not child molesters. It’s an irrational fear,” Zindel said.

Scanio, 63, pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography in October 2006. He was released from prison in February 2010. He was arrested in May 2011 on a federal warrant for violating terms of his supervised released.

Some of the probation charges he was found guilty of violating include: use of a computer without permission from his probation officer, not presenting truthful monthly reports to the probation officer, associating with a felon without permission, and contact with children under 18 without approval.

While Scanio must register as a sex offender under, based on when he was first convicted, his registry does not have to be made public.