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AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC at 410-209-4885  

November 30, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md                                       

ARBUTUS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING CHILD PORN

Possessed Images of Sadistic Conduct

Baltimore, Maryland - Michael Sapko, age 31, of Arbutus, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to the plea agreement presented to the court, an undercover Greensburg, Pennsylvania police officer posing on-line as a 30 year-old female contacted Sapko in May 2004. In on-line conversations, Sapko discussed how he had accumulated a personal collection of child pornography from the internet. Starting in June 2004, Sapko sent seven emails to the undercover officer, each containing an image of child pornography. In November 2004, ICE agents searched Sapko’s residence and seized a laptop computer containing 86 images of child pornography, including images of children under 12, and images depicting sadistic or masochistic conduct.

The parties have agreed under the plea agreement to a sentence of up to 30 months in prison followed by supervised release of at least 15 years. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake scheduled sentencing for Sapko on January 26, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the investigative work performed by the Greensburg, Pennsylvania Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Hanlon, who is prosecuting the case.

This page last modified—November 30, 2006