Cecil County Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for His Repeated Sexual Abuse of a Child

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Lawrence Aquilla Colby, IV, a/k/a “Buddy,” age 35, of Elkton, Maryland, yesterday to 50 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for his participation in a conspiracy to sexually abuse a child from the age of approximately four months to two years old, for producing and receiving images documenting the sexual abuse of the child, and for possession of child pornography.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Cecil County State’s Attorney James Dellmyer; and Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams.

At his plea hearing, Colby admitted that he and his co-conspirator, Summer McCroskey, sexually abused a child, starting at the time the victim was approximately four months of age through at least October 2021, when the victim was two years old, and produced videos and images of the abuse.  Both Colby and McCroskey participated in the abuse.  Additionally, Colby received files documenting the sexual abuse of the child, which were sent to him by McCroskey.

On May 18, 2023, Judge Bennett sentenced co-defendant Summer McCroskey, age 25, also of Elkton, to 80 years in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy.

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 Attorney’s 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 Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Colleen E. McGuinn who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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