Former Catonsville Resident Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Michael P. Strange, age 56, formerly of Catonsville, Maryland, now of Greenville, South Carolina, today to 70 months in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release for distributing child pornography.  Judge Hollander ordered that upon his release from prison, Strange 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; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.  

According to his plea agreement, in April 2015, a Maryland State Police investigator connected to the internet identified files containing child pornography that Strange had available for download.  On April 27, 2015, the investigator downloaded three video files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

A search warrant was executed at Strange’s residence in Catonsville on June 12, 2015, and law enforcement seized two laptops.   One laptop over 150 videos of child pornography, including the three videos downloaded on April 27, and the other laptop contained search terms indicative of child pornography.

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 praised the HSI Baltimore and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.