North Beach Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

Over 700 Images and 70 Videos of Child Pornography Found on His Computers and Flash Drives, Including Rape of Children and 10 to 20 Images of Sexual Abuse of Toddlers

GREENBELT, MD—Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Lawrence Francis Robinson, age 31, of North Beach, Maryland, today to 78 months in prison, followed by supervised release for life, for distributing child pornography. Chief Judge Chasanow ordered that upon his release from prison, Robinson 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 was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; and Colonel Terrence Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

According to Robinson’s plea agreement, law enforcement learned that Robinson engaged in four online chats with an individual on December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2008 in which they exchanged over 21 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent boys. In one chat, the individual requested that Robinson resend videos of the rape of young boys. During this chat, Robinson sent the individual an image of an adult male overpowering and sexually penetrating a male child.

On November 5, 2009, FBI agents interviewed Robinson who admitted using chat programs and receiving videos from people he met online. Agents seized Robinson’s laptop computer, which contained seven images and three videos of child pornography. Robinson stated that he had used a webcam on occasion when chatting with people online and had met five males in person whom he initially met from online chat.

On December 14, 2009 a search warrant was executed at Robinson’s home. Agents seized a computer containing 683 images and 57 videos of child pornography, the overwhelming majority of which depicted young males aged 15 and under. Approximately 10-20 of those images involved toddlers. Agents also seized a flash drive containing an additional 18 images and 15 videos of child pornography. Robinson was again interviewed and indicated that he had shared child pornography through peer-to-peer software on his computer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at www.justice.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, ICE—Homeland Security Investigations, and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacy Dawson Belf and LisaMarie Freitas, who prosecuted the case.