Maryland man sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for distributing and possessing child pornography
Possessed more than 42,000 images and 670 videos of child pornography, including images depicting bondage and the sadomasochistic sexual abuse of children
GREENBELT, Md. — A Maryland man was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for possessing and distributing child pornography. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
David B. Twitty, 64, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus. Judge Titus also ordered that upon his release from prison, Twitty 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).
According to Twitty's plea agreement, on four occasions between Aug. 16 and Dec. 15, 2009, Twitty used the screen names "perv62" of "perv63" to distribute a total of 91 images depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct to an online website where users would upload and download child pornography.
On Oct. 13, 2010, after identifying the screen names as belonging to Twitty, ICE HSI agents executed a search warrant at his residence. Twitty confessed that he had been trafficking in child pornography for six to seven years, that his interest was in images depicting pre-pubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and that his collection included images depicting bondage and the sadomasochistic sexual abuse of children.
During the search, agents seized Twitty's computers and other digital media items which contained more than 42,000 images and approximately 670 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or 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 and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas.
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