Maryland man sentenced to prison for producing and possessing child pornography

BALTIMORE — A Cockeysville, Md., man was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Baltimore County Police Department and assistance by the Baltimore County State's Attorney.

Leo Aragon Evans, 56, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander to 292 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for producing and possessing child pornography. Judge Hollander also ordered that upon his release from prison, Evans 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 Evans' plea agreement, on Jan. 10, 2011, a 9-year-old female reported to Baltimore County Police that Evans had repeatedly sexually abused her over the past year. These acts occurred while the victim and another 10-year-old girl were under Evans' care, sometimes at his home.

The next day, Baltimore County Police searched Evans' residence and seized a video camcorder and two tapes. Review of the tapes revealed that both depicted images of the 9 and 10-year-old girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Further investigation revealed that Evans had been the subject of three prior investigations involving the sexual abuse of three other minor girls.

On Jan. 19, 2011, a woman reported to the Baltimore County Police that she had used the key she had to Evans' apartment to retrieve her personal belongings and had discovered two "massagers," or sexual devices that matched the description provided to police by one of the minor victims. On April 16 and 17, 2011, a family member entered Evans' apartment, with his permission, to search for family photos and other items of sentimental value, while Evans was detained at the Baltimore County Detention Center. The family member found a baggie containing photos of three of the prepubescent girls, including photos of the victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The photographs of one of the victims matched the description of the photographs that she reported to police in 2003, which had been taken of her seven years earlier.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok prosecuted the case.