Easton Man Facing Federal Indictment for Possession and Receipt of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Tyler Dean Fowler, age 29, of Easton, Maryland, with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. The indictment was returned on November 10, 2021. Fowler was arrested for these charges on November 18, 2021 in North Carolina.

The indictment 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; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police and Chief David A. Spencer of the Easton Police Department.

According to the four-count indictment, in October 2019 Fowler knowingly received several images of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity including an image of a minor male’s genitalia.

The indictment also alleges that Fowler’s cell phone and laptop contained one or more visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

If convicted, Fowler faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years for receipt of child pornography; and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At today’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court in in the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler ordered that Fowler be detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

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. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI, the Maryland State Police Department, the Easton Police Department, and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office of North Carolina for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abigail E. Ticse and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the federal case.

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.         

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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