Former Army Soldier Sentenced To 12 Years In Federal Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang today sentenced Frank Crawford III, age 22, formerly of Virginia, to 12 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography in which he enticed a minor victim to send him sexually explicit photos of herself.  Upon his release from prison, Crawford must register as a sex offender in the places 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 Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans.

According to his plea agreement, over a period of four to five days, Crawford, then 21 years old and enlisted in the U.S. Army, had sexualized discussions with a 14-year-old Maryland victim.  On May 4, 2017, Crawford persuaded the victim to send him sexually explicit images of herself.  Crawford admitted that he and the victim used an interactive live chat service to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  Crawford further admitted that he knew the victim was a minor.

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 Attorney’s 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.      

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin, who is prosecuting the case.