News

Parkville Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Sexually Exploiting a Child to Produce Child Pornography

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2011

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Jeremy Guzewicz, age 28, of Parkville, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison followed by supervised release for life for sexually exploiting a child to produce child pornography. Judge Garbis also ordered Guzewicz to 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 William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Homeland Security Investigations; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

“The internet has become a way of life and can be an extremely beneficial tool,” said William Winter Special Agent in Charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore. “However, parents must be ever vigilant in being aware of their children’s internet activity and remember that predators are increasingly utilizing social networking sites to prey on children. HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat the exploitation of children.”

According to his guilty plea, beginning in July 2006, Guzewicz portrayed himself on an internet social networking site, that is marketed towards teenagers, as an older man with stepchildren. In fact, he is single and has no children. Guzewicz introduced himself to a 12 year old girl living in Massachusetts and soon thereafter, instructed the girl to send him sexually explicit pictures of herself. Guzewicz called the victim many times by phone, and sent her a sexually explicit picture which he represented was of himself.

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.justice.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked ICE, Office of Homeland Security Investigations; the FBI; the Baltimore County Police Department; and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Crooks, who prosecuted the case.

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