FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
May 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO OVER 11 YEARS FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Raymond Wright, age 62, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 135 months in prison, followed by supervised release for life, for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to his plea agreement, on August 8, 2008, an undercover federal agent in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, FBI Field Office connected to the Internet and using file sharing software, downloaded one video and five images documenting the sexual abuse of children from files that Raymond Wright was offering to share. On October 2, 2008, members of the Baltimore County Police Department executed a search warrant at Wright’s residence. Wright was not at the residence at the time of the execution of the search warrant, but was contacted and agreed to return home. Wright admitted to downloading images of small children engaging in sexual activity and explained that he would place child pornography videos on VHS tapes. Through a preliminary review of Wright’s computer, agents were able to determine that he possessed at least 45 movies and 43 images of child pornography. Agents also located child pornography in a photo album in Wright’s residence and two videos of child pornography which Wright had filmed from the computer. The materials included images of prepubescent minors.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger and his office for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.