Former Maryland Man Sentenced to 60 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced Christopher Michael Salisbury, age 38, of Long Beach, California, formerly of Maryland, today to the maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for two counts of production of child pornography. Judge Russell ordered that Salisbury pay a fine of $250,000. Judge Russell also ordered that upon his release from prison, Salisbury 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 Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the Criminal Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office.

According to Salisbury’s plea agreement, between 2006 and 2013, while residing in Maryland, Salisbury sexually abused two minors, beginning when each victim was approximately five years old, and produced images and videos of himself and the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Salisbury used video and photo editing software to assemble many of the videos documenting his sexual abuse of the victims into compilation videos that included music, text, and other editing.

Salisbury regularly accessed the internet through a network specifically designed to facilitate anonymous communication, commonly referred to as the “dark web.” Salisbury used the network to find and join a hidden website whose primary purpose was to advertise and distribute child pornography. Salisbury used the “dark web” and his membership in the hidden website to view, download, receive, and collect thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

Salisbury has been detained since his arrest on November 19, 2015.

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 and Los Angeles Field Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the federal case.