Maryland Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Prison For Possession Of Child Pornography

     WASHINGTON – Marc Gange, 35, of Silver Spring, Md., was sentenced today to a prison term of 46 months on a federal charge of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

     Gange pled guilty in February 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg. Upon completion of his prison term, Gange will be placed on 10 years of supervised release.

     According to the government's evidence, on Nov. 15, 2012, Gange contacted a man he believed to be the father of a 12-year-old girl on a social network site. That man turned out to be an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force.  Over the next several days, Gange engaged in online e-mail and instant message conversations with the undercover officer.

     During this period of time, Gange sent the undercover officer approximately 79 images of child pornography which depicted, among other things, adult men engaged in sexual acts with children.  Following Gange’s arrest on Dec. 5, 2012, the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force conducted a search of his work space and residence. Officers recovered approximately three videos and over 1,000 images of child pornography from a USB drive and the defendant’s computer.

     This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD.  In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force who investigated the case. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.