Maryland man pleads guilty to sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography

GREENBELT, Md. – A Maryland man pleaded guilty Monday to sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography. The plea followed an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore.

David Wayne Sweet, Jr., 24, took 24 sexually explicit pictures of a prepubescent girl while she slept as well as while nude in a bathtub. The Calvert County Sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant Sept. 19 at Sweet’s residence based on alleged drug violations. Sweet’s cellphone was seized. A subsequent review of the phone revealed the sexually explicit images. Sweet had deleted the pictures, but law enforcement officials recovered all of images.

Sweet was arrested on Sept. 27, and admitted that he inappropriately touched the victim while she was sleeping and took the photos.

Sweet 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). Sweet will be sentenced June 23, and faces 20 years in prison.