Previously Convicted Owings Mills Sex Offender Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell sentenced Shawn Joseph Eisenstein, age 29, of Owings Mills, Maryland, today to 11 years in prison followed by supervised release for life, for possession of child pornography. Eisenstein was previously convicted of distribution of child pornography in Baltimore County and was required to register as a sex offender. Judge Russell ordered that upon his release from prison, Eisenstein 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; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

On May 28, 2008, Eisenstein was convicted in Baltimore County Circuit Court of distributing child pornography, and sentenced to five years’ incarceration, with three years and six months suspended.  Eisenstein was placed on three years of probation upon his release from prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.

According to his plea agreement, in July 2014, Eisenstein uploaded images containing child pornography to his email account.  Following the email provider’s discovery of the images, a search warrant for Eisenstein’s residence was executed on July 29, 2014.  Eisenstein admitted to using his cell phone and his email accounts to trade files of child pornography with people he met on an image board website.  He viewed the child pornography on his cell phone.

A Baltimore County computer forensic examiner subsequently found over 100 images on Eisenstein’s cell phone of children engaged in lewd and sexual activity.  In all, Eisenstein possessed over 600 images of child pornography, including pre-pubescent children and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct, or other depictions of violence.

Eisenstein further admitted that in October 2011, while still on probation for his previous conviction for distribution of child pornography, he used an email account to communicate with an undercover Baltimore County detective who represented himself as a 13 year old female.  During those conversations Eisenstein discussed meeting the “girl” to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

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, HSI Baltimore, Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.