Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury indicted James J. Stanley, age 28, of Rising Sun, Maryland, today for the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and for distribution of child pornography.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Ivan Arvelo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief F.D. “Chip" Peterson, Jr. of the Rising Sun Police Department; and Cecil County State’s Attorney Ellis Rollins.
According to the two-count indictment, Stanley used a website that hosts anonymous, randomized, one-to-one video and text chat. The website allows users to seek chat partners without creating an account or providing any identifying information, and markets itself as an opportunity for users to “Talk to strangers!" The website allows users to engage in text-based chat sessions with or without accompanying video from the user’s webcam.
The indictment alleges that on Oct. 20, 2014, while Stanley was participating in a video chat session on the website he used his webcam to display an image documenting the sexual abuse of a prepubescent girl.
The indictment also alleges that Stanley placed a digital recording device in a shower that he knew would be used by a minor female (Girl1), with the intent to create video recordings of Girl 1 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Between Nov. 14, 2014 and Jan. 14, 2015, Stanley allegedly saved a video file to his computer that depicted Girl 1 taking a shower. Girl 1’s genital area is not visible in the video.
Stanley faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison for the attempted sexual exploitation of a child; and a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for distribution of child pornography, each followed by up to lifetime of supervised release. An initial appearance has not yet been scheduled for Stanley, who is currently detained on related state charges.
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 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 HSI Baltimore, the Maryland State Police, Rising Sun Police Department, and the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
