Former High School Teacher Sentenced to 45 Months in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Peter Flynn, age 61, of Silver Spring, Maryland today to 45 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for possessing child pornography.  Judge Hazel also ordered Flynn to pay a fine of $12,500.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Special Agent in Charge Andre Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Flynn is a former special education teacher in Montgomery County.  According to his plea agreement, on April 3, 2014, a Maryland State Police Corporal was conducting an online investigation into individuals sharing child pornography on a file sharing network.  The MSP Corporal downloaded approximately 205 images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct that Flynn made available through the file sharing network.

On September 30, 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Flynn’s residence and seized two computers from his basement.  Flynn also agreed to be interviewed and admitted that law enforcement would find child pornography on his computer.  A subsequent forensic analysis revealed approximately 28,785 images and 795 videos of child pornography and child erotica on the two computers, the majority of which constituted child pornography.  Some of the images documented the sexual abuse of prepubescent children, including bondage and violence.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.             

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and HSI Baltimore for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi N. O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.