Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Traveling into the District of Columbia to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Possession of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON—Frederick Singletary, 42, of Parkville, Maryland, pled guilty today to federal charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office;; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Singletary entered the guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Beryl A. Howell is to sentence him on September 20, 2013. Singletary faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years of imprisonment for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct and a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for possession of child pornography, as well as a fine of $250,000 on each count.

According to the government’s evidence, on February 12, 2013, Singletary contacted an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social networking site. Over the next few days, Singletary engaged in online e-mail, instant message, text message, and telephone conversations with the undercover officer, whom he believed was the father of an underaged girl. During this period of time, Singletary arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the child.

During the course of their communications, Singletary also sent the undercover officer 10 images of child pornography. On February 14, 2013, Singletary traveled from Maryland to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C. When he arrived, he was arrested.

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. 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.justice.gov/psc.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Parlave and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD detectives and special agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who is prosecuting the case.