Virginia Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison for Traveling to the District of Columbia to Have Sex with Underaged Child

WASHINGTON—George Ronald Marion, 67, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, was sentenced today to 50 months in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possessing 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).

Marion, a retired Army officer, pled guilty to the charges in February 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Ellen S. Huvelle. Upon completion of his prison term, Marion will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. During that time, he must abide by a number of conditions, including registering as a sex offender, getting sex offender treatment, and following limits on computer/Internet usage and contact with minors. Judge Huvelle also ordered Marion to pay a $3,000 fine.

According to the government’s evidence, between November 28, 2012, and December 8, 2012, Marion communicated online, by text message, and by telephone with an individual regarding Marion’s interest in engaging in sexual contact with an underage girl. Marion and the individual planned to meet on December 8, 2012, to engage in such sexual activity.

The individual actually was acting under law enforcement supervision, working with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. On December 8, 2012, Marion traveled from Virginia to the prearranged meeting location in Washington, D.C., where he was arrested. Following Marion’s arrest, law enforcement conducted a search of Marion’s residence and found approximately seven videos and 16 images of child pornography on his computer and electronic storage devices.

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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Chief Lanier praised the MPD detectives and special agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly and Paralegal Specialist Toni Donato of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Finally, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassidy Kesler Pinegar, who prosecuted the case.