Takoma Park Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

GREENBELT, MD—U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Larry Bruce Twombly, age 54, of Takoma Park, Maryland, today to 12 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for receipt of child pornography. Judge Williams ordered that upon his release from prison, Twombly 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 and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the plea agreement, Twombly was identified by law enforcement when he was sharing files of child pornography on different chat forums on the Internet. During a search of Twombly’s home in the 6600 block of Westmoreland Avenue in Takoma Park, agents seized the computer located in Twombly’s bedroom. Subsequent forensic analysis of the computer’s hard drive recovered approximately 57 videos and 80 images depicting children, including children under the age of 12, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Twombly also admitted that he distributed child pornography through the Internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at www.justice.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas, assigned from the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mara Zusman Greenberg, who prosecuted the case.