Baltimore, Maryland - Darrius Carr, age 22, of Severn, pleaded guilty late on Nov. 19, 2014, to producing child pornography arising from his sexual assault of a toddler on March 7 and 11, 2014.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
"This was an unthinkable crime against a toddler," said Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis. "I commend the investigators from the FBI and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their dedication and tenacity in investigating such a difficult case. Hopefully this predator will never be able to victimize another child."
According to his plea agreement, in March 2014, Carr did not have a place to stay. Carr moved in with a family in order to provide daycare for the couple’s young children on March 6, 2014.
The next day, while the parents were at work, Carr was alone with the children. During a four minute time span, Carr produced six photos and a video of himself and the girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On March 11, 2014, Carr was again left alone with the children. Carr produced another video of himself and the victim. The video is a close up of the victim’s genitals, and during the video Carr touches her.
Additionally, since at least 2012, Carr used his email accounts, online storage accounts, and Instagram account to store and distribute child pornography. The distributed files of child pornography included more than 600 images of prepubescent minors, and videos.
As part of his plea agreement, Carr 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).
Carr and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement Carr will be sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Jan. 26, 2015 at _.m.
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.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police Department and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
