Millersville Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Richard Breeden, age 41, of Millersville, Maryland, on April 3, 2012 to five years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for distribution of child pornography. Judge Bennett ordered that upon his release from prison, Breeden 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 guilty plea/sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Somervell County, Texas Sheriff Greg Doyle.

According to the plea agreement, on April 8, 2011, a Somervell County, Texas undercover sheriff’s officer began chatting on the Internet with an individual later identified as Breeden. On May 2, 2011, Breeden began a chat conversation with and sent images of minors engaged in sexual activity to the officer. Between May 4, 2011 and June 1, 2011, Breeden sent the undercover officer 140 images containing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

On May 31, 2011, Breeden transmitted to the undercover officer a live feed of Breeden masturbating via a live web camera located under his desk. Breeden told the undercover officer that he chats on the Internet while he is working and that he is a supervisor. On May 31, 2011, while Breeden was masturbating, the undercover officer saw a company logo in the background which was, in fact, where Breeden was a supervisory employee.

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

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Somervell County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.