March 28, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md    MARCIA MURPHY at (410) 209-4885

BALTIMORE MAN  PLEADS GUILTY TO DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET

Baltimore, Maryland - Levi Peterson, age 21, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to distributing child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to his guilty plea, Peterson’s residence was searched on February 23, 2006 after undercover FBI agents downloaded image files depicting child pornography from an F-Serve which they determined was located in Maryland.  Agents seized a computer containing over 2,000 images of child pornography, including images of children under 12 years old and minors engaged in sadistic and masochistic conduct.  A compact disk found in the home also contained 4,500 child pornography images. 

Peterson faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years, and a maximum of 20 years  in prison, followed by supervised release for life.  U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has scheduled sentencing for May 16, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit  www.projectsafechildhood.gov.  Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html http://.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who is prosecuting the case.