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Allegany County Man Pleads Guilty To Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor To Produce Child Pornography

April 11th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Baltimore, Maryland – Jason Wayne Hines, age 37, formerly of Cumberland, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to sexually exploiting a child to produce child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Allegany County State’s Attorney Michael O. Twigg.

            According to his plea agreement, on January 29 and February 1, 2016, during an undercover investigation, Maryland State Police officers downloaded two videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct from Hines’ computer, which he was sharing over the internet.  On May 3, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Hines’ residence.  An on-scene forensic analysis of Hines’ laptop computer recovered images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Hines was arrested on state criminal charges for distribution and possession of child pornography.

            Forensic examination of Hines’ computers, storage media, and cell phone seized during the search revealed over 1,000 images and over 50 videos of child pornography. Hines’ internet search history also showed an interest in sexual activity with minors.  Investigators recovered 23 images created between October 3, 2015 and February 28, 2016, and five videos from Hines’ smartphone.  The five videos did not have create dates, but depicted Hines sexually abusing a prepubescent female as she is sleeping.  The images recovered from the phone also document Hines’ sexual abuse of the child.

As part of his plea agreement, Hines must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Hines and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Hines will be sentenced to between 17 ½ and 25 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for July 18, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.        

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended HSI-Baltimore, Maryland State Police, and Allegany County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judson T. Mihok and Sandra Wilkinson, who are prosecuting the federal case.

 

 

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