Baltimore Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Distribution Of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Justin Stevens, age 31, of Baltimore, today to five years in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for distribution of child pornography. Judge Hollander ordered that upon his release from prison, Stevens must 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 and Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to Stevens’ plea agreement, on January 2, 2013, after a computer chat with Stevens, an undercover law enforcement agent downloaded 11 files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct from Stevens’ computer utilizing file sharing software. After reviewing the downloaded files, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children issued a report indicating that three of the files depicted at least one child previously identified by law enforcement as being a victim of child exploitation.

A search warrant was obtained for Stevens’ residence on January 30, 2013 and a computer, multiple external hard drives and other digital media were seized. A forensic examination of the computer and one of the hard drives recovered over 600 images of child pornography, including numerous images documenting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children. Also observed in plain sight during the execution of the search warrant was drug paraphernalia, drug packaging and drugs, which were tested and determined to be methamphetamine.

This case was brought as 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 Attorneys' 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 visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI Baltimore and Wilmington for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamera L. Fine, who prosecuted the case.