Baltimore Man Seeking to Have Sex with a 12-Year-Old Girl Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Prison for Transportation of Child Pornography

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Shawn Ryan Walker, age 27, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 97 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for transportation of child pornography. Judge Blake also ordered that Walker must register as a sex offender in any location where he resides, works, or goes to school.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to Walker’s plea agreement, during an undercover operation a Baltimore County Police Detective noticed a posting by Walker on Craigslist, which indicated Walker’s desire to have sexual contact with “a young girl or young boy” and included a picture of a penis. Walker exchanged text messages and e-mails with the undercover detective, as Walker sought to finalize arrangements to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. With the arrangements seemingly finalized, Walker went to the hotel room where he was to meet the girl, got undressed and got into the bed. He was then arrested. The next day, a search warrant was executed at Walker’s home and a forensic examination of a computer hard drive discovered 37 videos and images documenting the sexual abuse of minors. The images included prepubescent minors and sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence.

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 thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.