Twice-Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years for Receiving Child Pornography While on Federal Probation for Prior Sex Offense

GREENBELT, MD—Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Larry Poole, age 50, of Laurel, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography. Chief Judge Chasanow ordered that upon his release from prison, Poole 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; Chief Richard McLaughlin of the Laurel Police Department; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to his plea agreement, on June 11, 2012 the Child Protective Services (CPS) received a report that Poole was sending text messages claiming to be molesting an unidentified 9-year-old girl. CPS referred the matter to Laurel Police Department personnel, who were not able to locate any child in Poole’s neighborhood matching the description used by Poole in his texts.

The Laurel Police Department subsequently learned that Poole was on federal probation and was registered as a sex offender based on two prior convictions—in 2003, for child abuse, in Baltimore County Circuit Court; and in 2006, for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sex and possession of child pornography, in federal court for the District of Columbia.

Laurel police alerted Poole’s federal probation officer, who made a surprise visit to Poole’s home on June 25, 2012. Poole consented to a preview of his cell phone, and the probation officer discovered videos and images of child pornography. Poole admitted that an individual brought child pornography to Poole’s home the previous day on a thumb drive or SD card and helped Poole load pornographic images of girls under 14 years old onto Poole’s computer and cell phone.

Laurel police and the FBI executed a search warrant, seized Poole’s cell phone and computer, and discovered approximately six videos and 120 images 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Laurel Police Department and FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi N. O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.