Elkton Man Pleads Guilty to Production and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, Mark Rice, 38, of Elkton, Maryland, pled guilty to federal charges of production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Baltimore, and Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent, Maryland State Police (MSP).

In April 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a CyberTip from Reddit regarding the transmission of child sexual abuse material. Authorities traced the tip to an IP address associated with Rice’s Elkton residence.

During an MSP interview, Rice denied the accusation but was observed deleting photos from his phone. When Rice showed officers his phone, investigators spotted child sexual abuse material in a thumbnail image. Through a deeper search, authorities uncovered additional material in his recently deleted folder.

Then HSI discovered more than 600 child sexual abuse material images across Rice’s devices, including two showing Rice’s sexual abuse of a minor as young as 3 years old. Investigators also found that Rice used a public Reddit community to connect with people that he traded child sexual abuse material with using encrypted messaging platforms.

Pursuant to his plea agreement, the parties agree that if the court accepts the plea agreement, Rice will be sentenced to no less than 27 years but no more than 32 years in federal prison, followed by a period of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, at 2:30 p.m.

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 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click the “Resources” tab on the left side of the page to learn about Internet safety education.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI and MSP for their investigative efforts and NCMEC for its valuable assistance in the case. Ms. Hayes also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin who is prosecuting the 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.

# # #