Previously Convicted Sex Offender Facing Federal Indictment for Sexual Exploitation and Enticement of a Minor

Baltimore Man Allegedly Posed as a Teenage Girl on Social Media and Other Platforms to Communicate With Teenage Boys; Law Enforcement Seeking Information About Possible Additional Victims

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Jeffrey R. Cummings, Jr., a/k/a Olivia Harris, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, for federal charges related to the alleged sexual exploitation and enticement of a minor during a period of time when Cummings was required to register as a sex offender.  The indictment was returned on July 18, 2019, and unsealed at Cummings’ initial appearance in U.S. District Court on July 19, 2019.  At that hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite ordered that Cummings be detained pending a detention hearing on July 23, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Postal Inspector in Charge Peter R. Rendina of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the seven-count indictment, Cummings was convicted of a sex offense in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 2008, and was required to register as a sex offender in Maryland. The indictment alleges that beginning on May 13, 2017, Cummings operated multiple social media accounts using a variety of aliases, including Olivia Harris, to communicate with minor boys, many of whom lived in the Spokane, Washington area.  During his communications with the minor boys, Cummings allegedly falsely represented that Olivia Harris was a teenage girl.  Using his accounts, the indictment alleges that Cummings coerced and enticed minor boys to send Cummings pictures and videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  According to the indictment, Cummings also sent the boys money and gifts in exchange for them sending him their previously worn socks by mail.

Further, the indictment alleges that on December 16 and 29, 2018, as well as January 20, 2019, Cummings, posing as Olivia Harris, communicated with Boy 1, who was approximately 15 years old and resided in Stevens County, Washington.  During each of those conversations Cummings, posing as Olivia Harris, allegedly requested Boy 1 to send “her” a sexually explicit photograph or video, which Boy 1 provided.  On December 16, 2018, Olivia Harris also sent Boy 1 a picture of a teenage girl purported to be a picture of “herself,” as well as nude images of a pubescent female’s genital area, claiming to be pictures of herself.

If convicted, Cummings faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of 50 years in prison for each of three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography; a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for each of three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity; and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for committing these crimes while being required to register as a sex offender.

Anyone who may have information about possible victims or details related to the investigation of Jeffrey R. Cummings, Jr is asked to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 202-636-2220.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

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 U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI for their work in the investigation, and thanked the Baltimore Police Department for its assistance.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who is prosecuting the federal case.