Baltimore Man Sentenced to More Than 24 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography and Attempting to Entice a Minor to Have Sex
Also Encouraged His Ex-Wife to Distribute Child Pornography

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced David Ralph Fisher, age 43, of Baltimore, today to 293 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for producing child pornography and attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit activity. Judge Bredar ordered that upon his release from prison, Fisher 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; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.

According to his plea agreement and court documents, David Fisher repeatedly requested that his ex-wife, Lori Fisher, produce sexually explicit photos of two minor girls, which she did on at least two occasions between August and December 2008. Lori Fisher took the photos on her cell phone and then texted the images to David Fisher, who saved the images on his cell phone and computers.

On November 4, 2012, the Baltimore Police Department received information that images and videos of child pornography were observed on David Fisher’s external hard drive at his residence. The external hard drive was provided to police. Many files depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were found.

A search warrant was subsequently executed at David Fisher’s residence on November 20, 2012, and computers, cell phones, and other items were seized. Sexually explicit e-mail messages with attachments were recovered in which Fisher solicited child pornography from other individuals and shared child pornography from his collection. Also, in February 2013, law enforcement confirmed that some of the sexually explicit images found on David’s computer and cell phone were images of the two minor girls that Lori Fisher had photographed and sent to David. In all, over 2,200 images and 100 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including prepubescent minors, were recovered.

On March 14, 2013, a Baltimore Police detective working undercover contacted David Fisher on Facebook, posing as a 14-year-old female. Between March 14 and April 11, 2013, David Fisher communicated with the undercover detective through Facebook and e-mail, often using a computer at a public library because of law enforcement’s seizure of his home computer. David Fisher asked the undercover detective to send him sexually explicit photos and sent the undercover detective sexually explicit photographs of himself. Fisher also gave the undercover detective his cell phone number and proposed meeting to engage in sexual activity. A meeting was arranged for April 11, 2013. Fisher was arrested when he arrived at the meeting.

Lori Fisher, age 46, of St. Cloud, Florida, and formerly of Bel Air, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison at her sentencing scheduled for June 11, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. As part of her plea agreement, Lori Fisher will be required to register as a sex offender in the place where she resides, where she is an employee, and where she is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

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

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.