Prince George’s County Man Indicted On Charges Of Sex Trafficking And Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                   at (410) 209-4885

Baltimore, Maryland – Today a federal grand jury has indicted Rody L. Bowden, age 39, of Prince George’s County, Maryland, on charges of Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, and Transportation of Child Pornography.  Bowden was also charged with committing these offenses as a registered sex offender.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Tim Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

According to the four-count indictment, in December 2016, Bowden engaged in commercial sex acts with a 14-year-old ninth-grade student, including in Anne Arundel County motel rooms.  On January 4, 2017, he recorded a video of the victim engaged in oral sex with him.  On September 4, 2017, Bowden e-mailed a copy of the video to another account that he controlled.

Bowden was previously required to register as a sex offender, stemming from two convictions for third-degree sex offenses in Prince George’s County and Charles County.  Bowden was previously arrested on a criminal complaint, and has been ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending trial.

Bowden faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, for Sex Trafficking of a Minor; a mandatory 35 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life, for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor; and a mandatory 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, for Transportation of Child Pornography.  He faces an additional 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, for allegedly committing these offenses as a registered sex offender.  An initial appearance has been scheduled for 11:00 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on May 25, 2018. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended HSI and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Ray D. McKenzie, who are prosecuting the case.