03/31/2011

News / Previously Convicted Ocean City Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

BALTIMORE—Lawrence Franklin King III, age 41, a previously convicted sex offender living in Ocean City, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Colonel Terrence Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Worcester County Sheriff Reggie T. Mason, Sr.; and Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby.

“Encouraging strong partnerships between federal and local prosecutors ensures that offenders like Mr. King are held wholly accountable for their actions, safeguarding our local neighborhoods,” said Beau Oglesby, State’s Attorney for Worcester County.

According to King’s plea agreement, in 2002, King was convicted in Baltimore of sexual abuse of a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison, all suspended. In the summer of 2010, law enforcement received a complaint regarding child pornography involving King. During a search of King’s residence on October 1, 2010, law enforcement recovered over 600 videos and images documenting the sexual abuse of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included prepubescent children as well as depictions of sadistic and masochistic activity. King admitted to downloading thousands of images of child pornography from the Internet, which he stored on his computer. King admitted that he had to move child pornography from his laptop to CDs and DVDs to free up space on his laptop.

King faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson has scheduled sentencing for June 9, 2011, at 11:30 a.m.

This case was brought as 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 United States 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 via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at www.justice.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police Department, Maryland State Police, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, and Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.

http://www.fbi.gov/baltimore/press-releases/2011/previously-convicted-ocean-city-sex-offender-pleads-guilty-to-possessing-child-pornography

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