Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting a Minor

Baltimore, Maryland – Zachary Anthony Campbell, 33, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty today, to two counts of sexually exploiting a minor.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD), and Chief Charles J. Herring, Towson University Police Department (TUPD).

According to his guilty plea, Campbell sexually abused an 11-year-old victim.  On two occasions, in October 2023 and February 2024, Campbell recorded a video of himself sexually abusing the victim who appeared to be sleeping.  Additionally, on five occasions in 2023 and 2024, Campbell placed a hidden camera in a bathroom and recorded videos of the victim in various stages of undressing.  Campbell saved the sexual-exploitation videos on his phone.    

Campbell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 60 years in federal prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, for these offenses. Sentencing information is forthcoming.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, BPD, and TUPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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