Ocean City Man Indicted for Possessing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 24, 2011 |
BALTIMORE—A federal grand jury has indicted Lawrence Franklin King III, age 41, of Ocean City, Maryland, for possession of child pornography. The indictment was returned on December 7, 2010. King had his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Friday, February 18, 2011, after related state charges were dismissed. King had a detention hearing late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Mildred Methvin ordered that he be detained pending trial.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Colonel Terrence Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Worcester County Sheriff Reggie T. Mason, Sr.; and Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby.
“Our community demands that these types of offenders be held completely accountable for their actions, and we know that our cooperation with federal prosecutors in this matter will help achieve this goal,” said Beau Oglesby, State’s Attorney for Worcester County.
According to the indictment, on October 10, 2010, King allegedly possessed at least four images and a video documenting the sexual abuse of a minor. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of the computer from which the images were recovered, as well as any property used to commit the offense.
King faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography. King remains detained on related state charges.
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.
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 www.justice.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Maryland State Police, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, and Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.