Maryland Man Convicted of Distribution of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON—Christopher Medovich, 28, of Hancock, Md., pled guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

U.S. Attorney Machen was joined in the announcement by Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Richard A. McFeely, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Division; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Medovich appeared today before the Honorable Reggie B. Walton. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of imprisonment, a maximum sentence of 20 years, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 19, 2011.

According to a factual proffer of evidence presented during today’s court proceeding, on August 18, 2010, an MPD member of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, who was operating undercover as part of the investigation, communicated with the defendant by e-mail and instant messenger. During the course of the communications over the next several days, Medovich sent the undercover investigator eight images of child pornography.

Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Medovich was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, and was on active duty in Kuwait and Iraq at the time he sent the images of child pornography to the undercover investigator.

Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant and a search warrant for his residence in Hancock. On December 15, 2010, the defendant was arrested. A forensic analysis of computer equipment inside Medovich’s residence confirmed that he also possessed 64 images of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD. Assistance in this investigation was provided by the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Maryland.

In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, U.S. Attorney Rosenstein, Assistant Director McJunkin, Special Agent in Charge McFeely, and Chief Lanier commended the work of all who participated in the investigation. They especially acknowledged the efforts of the MPD detectives and special agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the work of Criminal Investigator John Marsh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra Wilkinson, Judson Mihok, from the District of Maryland, as well as David Last and David B. Kent, from the District of Columbia, who are prosecuting this case.