Timonium Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Thomas Warren Stickney, age 22, of Timonium, Maryland, today to five years in prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for distribution of child pornography. Judge Motz ordered that upon his release from prison, Stickney 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; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to Stickney’s plea agreement, on December 13, 2012, Stickney sent an image and video, each depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, to an individual with whom he was communicating online. The individual reported the incident to Baltimore County Police detectives, who assumed the online identity of the individual. In an undercover capacity, a Baltimore County Police detective communicated with Stickney and requested another video, which Stickney supplied. Stickney then asked the detective to meet him for sexual purposes. The detective, still in an undercover capacity, informed Stickney that he would have to drop off his young nephew before he could meet with Stickney. Stickney suggested that the detective bring his nephew along so that they could engage in sexually explicit conduct with the nephew. Stickney was arrested when he arrived at a local motel for the meeting. A search recovered two condoms from Stickney’s front pants pocket, as well as a cellular phone from the front console of the car and a laptop computer and external hard drive from a backpack on the front passenger seat.

A search warrant was obtained for Stickney’s car and residence. A subsequent forensic examination of the laptop, external hard drive, and other digital media seized from Stickney’s home showed that there were approximately 14,350 images and 203 video files of minors, including prepubescent minors, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These included depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

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.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the HSI Baltimore, FBI, Baltimore County Police Department, Crimes Against Children Unit, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.