Leonardtown Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor to Produce Child Pornography

GREENBELT, MD—U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Christopher Michael Holland, age 32, of Leonardtown, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison, followed by   supervised release for life, for sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to his plea agreement, on April 30, 2008 FBI agents found an image from Holland’s laptop computer that had been seized from his residence under a search warrant, depicting Holland engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a prepubescent female.  The image was a picture taken by the laptop’s camera.  Law enforcement agents interviewed Holland the next day and Holland stated that he had taken three such pictures using his laptop’s camera.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Glatfelter, who prosecuted the case.