GREENBELT, Md. (December 21, 2017)—United States District Judge Paul W. Grimm has sentenced former Charles County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander C. Sullivan, age 38, of King George, Virginia, to 2 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Sheriff Troy D. Berry of the Charles County Sheriff's Office; and Sheriff Steve F. Dempsey of the King George County Sheriff's Office.
According to the plea agreement, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received four tips from a company that provides cloud security concerning suspected child pornography being uploaded to a specific telephone number in October and November 2016. An officer from the Charles County Sheriff's Department conducted a search on the telephone number and determined that it belonged to Alexander Sullivan of Indian Head, Maryland. A state search warrant for Sullivan and his telephone was executed in Charles County on November 17, 2016. A preview of the materials on the phone allegedly revealed more than 100 images and at least seven videos containing child pornography.
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.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended HSI Baltimore, the Charles County Sheriff's Office and the King George County Sheriff's Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Kristi N. O'Malley, who are prosecuting the federal case.