Convicted Maryland sex offender sentenced to over 17 years in prison for distribution of child pornography
BALTIMORE — A Maryland man, a previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced Thursday to over 17 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, Maryland State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office.
Brian P. Davis, 50, of Dundalk, was also ordered to serve a lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. following his prison sentence and register as a sex offender.
According to Davis' plea agreement, in 2005, he began using a file sharing network to search for, receive and distribute child pornography.
On Nov. 24, 2013, an undercover Baltimore County detective downloaded an image depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct from a user who was making files containing child pornography available for others to download. The user was identified as Davis and a search warrant was executed at Davis' residence on Dec. 11, 2013.
When officers from the Baltimore County Police Department entered the residence to conduct the search, they found Davis' desktop computer in the basement. The computer was on and running a file sharing network. A detective conducted a forensic preview of the computer and located images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A full forensic examination of the computer found more than 600 images of child pornography, including images depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
"Child predators must understand that the despicable images they're downloading and sharing with others perpetuates a lifetime of misery and grief for the young victims," said William Winter, special agent in charge of HSI Baltimore. "HSI will use all of its tools and resources to investigate and arrest individuals who engage in this illegal activity."
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Judson T. Mihok prosecuted the case.
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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