ODENTON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Baltimore, Maryland - John Ewing Baugus, age 62, of Odenton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to his guilty plea, on January 25, 2007, law enforcement officials received information that Baugus was in possession of child pornography at his home. After investigating the information, a search warrant was executed at Baugus’ home on February 13, 2007. Agents recovered over 600 images of child pornography from the computer and computer media utilized by Baugus, including images of prepubescent children involved in sexual activity and child pornography images which involved sadistic or masochistic conduct. Baugus was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in 1998 and in 2004 in Anne Arundel County.

Baugus faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and a maximum of 20 years in prison, followed by supervised release for life. U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis has scheduled sentencing for July 11, 2008 at 12:00 p.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.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.

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