Military Employee Charged With Child Pornography Offenses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

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

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Spencer E. Steckman, 34, of Silver Spring, Maryland for the production, transportation, and possession of child pornography. The indictment was returned on March 26, 2018, and unsealed upon the arrest of the Steckman.

The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning of the District of Maryland; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the FBI - Baltimore Field Office.

Steckman was charged with one count of production of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.  Steckman had his initial court appearance earlier today and was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

According to the indictment, between August 17, 2017, and September 22, 2017, Steckman, while in Maryland, enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  In mid-November 2017, Steckman moved to Japan to work with Commander Navy Region Japan.  In Japan, Steckman transported and possessed child pornography.

Steckman was detained by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Japan on March 27, 2018, and transported back to Maryland by the United States Marshals Service on April 1, 2018, to appear before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

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. 

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, NCIS and the Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin and Trial Attorney Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), who are prosecuting the case.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.