Maryland man sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison for possession of child pornography

BALTIMORE - Paul Gary Pinkston, 27, of Glen Burnie, Md., was sentenced to 20 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography. Pinkston 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). The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge William Winter of ICE HSI in Baltimore, Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Keith A. Fixel of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division and Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.

According to Pinkston's plea agreement, on May 4, 2009, special agents with ICE HSI executed a search warrant at Pinkston's residence, after an investigation showed that he subscribed to a fee-based child pornography website. During the search, agents seized Pinkston's computer and a subsequent forensic examination revealed images of prepubescent minors, under the age of 12, engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including 29 videos and 53 images.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised ICE HSI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who prosecuted the case.

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. This hotline is 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.