Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON—Paul Robinson, 34, of Great Mills, Maryland, has pled guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen Jr.; U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Richard A. McFeely, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Robinson appeared September 6, 2011 before the Honorable Gladys Kessler in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 20 years, as well as a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for November 30, 2011.

According to a factual proffer of evidence presented during at the plea proceedings, on May 11, 2011, an MPD member of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, who was operating undercover, communicated with the defendant by e-mail and instant messenger. During the course of the communications, Robinson expressed interest in meeting an underaged girl and engaging in sexual contact with the child. Also during the course of the communications, Robinson sent the undercover investigator nine images of child pornography. During communications the next day, Robinson further expressed interest in watching the undercover performing sex acts with the underaged girl via a web camera over the Internet.

Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Robinson and a search warrant for his residence in Great Mills, Maryland. On May 23, 2011, Robinson was arrested. A forensic analysis of computer equipment inside Robinson’s residence confirmed that Robinson also possessed 100 images and six videos of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office provided assistance in the case.

Project Safe Childhood is 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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, U.S. Attorney Rosenstein, Assistant Director McJunkin, Special Agent in Charge McFeely, and Chief Lanier praised the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the work of U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigator John Marsh. Finally, they praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacy Belf, LisaMarie Freitas, Sharon Donovan, and David B. Kent, who are prosecuting this case.