Baltimore Man Seeking to Have Sex with a 12 Year Old Girl Pleads Guilty to Transportation of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland - Shawn Ryan Walker, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to Walker’s plea agreement, during an undercover operation a Baltimore County Police Detective noticed a posting by Walker on Craigslist, which indicated Walker’s desire to have sexual contact with “a young girl or young boy” and included a picture of a penis. Walker exchanged text messages and e-mails with the undercover detective, as Walker sought to finalize arrangements to have sex with a 12 year old girl. With the arrangements seemingly finalized, Walker went to the hotel room where he was to meet the girl, got undressed and got into the bed. He was then arrested. The next day, a search warrant was executed at Walker’s home and a forensic examination of a computer hard drive discovered 37 videos and images documenting the sexual abuse of minors. The images included prepubescent minors and sadistic, masochistic and other depictions of violence.

Walker faces a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for transportation of child pornography, followed by supervised release up to life. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for June 11, 2010, at 9:00 a.m.

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 thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.