Manchester Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Jesse David Kuchta, age 28, of Manchester, Maryland, today to 30 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production and possession of child pornography. Judge Russell ordered that upon his release from prison, Kutcha must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

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

According to Kuchta’s plea agreement, on May 14, 2014, a detective with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that had been uploaded to a website.  Law enforcement identified Kuchta as the holder of the website’s accounts. On May 14, 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Kuchta’s residence.

Kuchta arrived home during the search.  He admitted taking the images and videos of a minor female engaged in sexually explicit conduct and uploading them online.  Law enforcement seized a flash drive, two micro SD cards and two cell phones used to produce and possess the child pornography, as well as other items seen in the images and videos that Kuchta produced.

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 HSI Baltimore, the Maryland State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted the case.