Carroll County Public School Teacher Indicted For Attempted Enticement Of A Minor To Engage In Illegal Sexual Activity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                   at (410) 209-4885

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted Kenneth Brian Fischer, age 39, of Westminster, Maryland yesterday for using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Sheriff James T. DeWees of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr. of the Fairfax County, Virginia Police; and the Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office.

According to the single count indictment, between August 31, 2017 and September 5, 2017, Fischer used electronic mail and text messaging to attempt to coerce a minor to meet him for sex.   Fischer faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum of life. 

Fischer was previously arrested in Westminster, Maryland on related charges and has been in custody since September 13, 2017. His initial appearance in federal court is not yet scheduled. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Richard D. Bennett. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. 

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.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, MSP, the Carroll County Sherriff’s Office, the Fairfax County Police, and the Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn M. Ducao who is prosecuting the case.